Identity thieves originally went after high value targets that had the most money. Nowadays, they have gone out of that comfort zone and target lower income groups who make for easier pickings. Identity theft cases have skyrocketed in the 21st century fueled by technological advancements. It is becoming easier for identity thieves to get information about people which they eventually use to carry out fraudulent activities. Although identity thieves prefer richer people, their information is not as easy to come by compared to low income earners. The following people are more vulnerable to identity theft.
Frequent users of social networks. Research suggests that people who frequently use social networks are vulnerable to identity theft due to the possibility of sharing personally identifiable information. People who have used such networks online for over five years are twice as likely to fall victim to identity theft.
People who reside in apartments in major cities. Identity theft in this case is made possible by the ease by which mail can be intercepted by identity thieves. This group of people also move house frequently. This means that mail can easily land in the wrong hands at a previous residence.
It has become fairly obvious that online shoppers have the highest risk factor when it comes to becoming a victim of this kind of theft. This is because they usually give out loads of sensitive personal information and even credit card numbers.
A proactive approach can serve as a good means of preventing theft. The following are some steps that can be taken to deal with the risk of identity theft.
Always ensure that on changing addresses, you inform the people that send you regular mail such as banks. This will prevent your mail from landing in the wrong hands.
Always shred documents that have personally identifiable information before throwing them in the trash. Even better, burn items with highly sensitive data.
Always cancel all credit cards that you no longer use. People usually get shocked to see purchases made with unused credit cards.
Always have passwords that are hard to guess. Password-protected accounts usually have personal information within them.
Memorize all important numbers such as social security numbers so as not to leave them lying around on a written piece of paper. If not, save them in a secure password-protected location.
Check your bank statement every month to make sure that all transactions were performed by you.
Always make sure that any website you use to make online purchases is genuine. Such websites are usually validated and make use of secure connections.
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