Prevent Identity Theft: 10 Tips You Should Already Know

The following is a guest article from Bullseye at Colourful Money, a Canadian personal finance blog outlining tried-and-true, plus unique and unusual, ways to grow your wealth on a whole host of topics from RRSPs, taxation, real estate, child tax benefits, and more.

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Going through an identity theft experience can be extremely frustrating, time consuming, and even costly. I have a good friend who has been the victim of identity theft repeatedly and it sure keeps me on my toes about the dangers and risks involved.  

10 Tips to Prevent Identity Theft

• Practice ATM safety. Hide your hand when entering your PIN. I actually go as far as ‘fake-punching,’ pretending to hit buttons, just in case.
• Don’t use debit. Plenty of fraud originates from debit card use, that’s a proven fact. On top of that, avoiding debit can be lucrative for you.
• Photocopy all wallet/purse contents. This will save you a ton of time if anything is lost or stolen. You’ll have a reliable reference for quick contact and cancellation.
• Don’t keep your SIN card on you. There is no reason to do so, and it leaves you wide open if you lose your wallet or purse.
• Secure your mailbox. Criminals can easily swipe your mail from a standard box. Use a locked box instead, or even have your mail sent to a P.O. box that is close by.
• Monitor clerks when they have your cards. Clerks associated with criminals can scan your card under the counter, so try to watch it at all times.
• Reduce your number of cards. More credit accounts mean more exposure to possible fraud. Only carry the cards you need in your wallet.   
• Check your credit regularly, at least once a year. It’s free and straightforward to get your free annual credit reports from Equifax and TransUnion.
• Use secure passwords. Make it a mix of letters and numbers, if possible, and definitely memorize it. Friends in the industry tell me shocking percentages of people who keep their passwords or PINs written down in the same place as their cards.   
• Be computer safe. Use a firewall and virus protection, password-protect files, shop online with care, and drill a hole in your hard drive when your dispose of your computer.

The Bottom Line

You can’t completely prevent identity theft – there are other ways that criminals can access your data that you have no way of protecting against. But you CAN reduce your risk of exposure. Following the steps above will go a long way towards doing this. I follow these tips myself, and so far (fingers crossed), have never had to deal with any problems related to identity theft.