Tag: identity theft

Internet and Identity Safe Practices

mikeluntLeave a comment

Credit Security

  1. Lock personal credit for all three major agencies, and only open for 24 hours, when applying for a loan.
    1. Equifax
    2. Experian
    3. TranUnion
  2. Use a PIN for your tax return.
    1. This can be obtained if there’s ever been an identity theft situation.
  3. Pay a credit monitoring service, if there’s ever been a breach of identity.
    1. NOTE: Many credit card companies provide notifications for credit bureau change as a free service.

Internet Security

  1. Turn on MFA (Multi Factor Auth) / 2FA (Two Factor Auth) for all sites with an account, especially any with financial information or social media accounts.
    1. NOTE #1: Use an authenticator app on your phone for the 2nd factor and avoid using texts as much as possible, since texts can be spoofed.
    2. NOTE: #2: If logging into a site and not being requested for a code in addition to the password, this is not a safe site.
  2. Use randomized passwords for all sites with a password manager like LastPass, etc.
    1. NOTE: Never use the same password twice!
  3. Do not save passwords in your browser.
  4. Do not write down passwords.
    1. NOTE: Writing down clues to help remember is fine, but never the full password. Also, there should be only one password, and that’s for the password manager.
  5. DO NOT call phone numbers out of emails, texts or other situations where a number has been sent to you.
    1. NOTE: Only call phone numbers from Web sites that have been fully vetted by yourself that you directly opened and not from something sent to you.
  6. DO NOT accept phone calls from anyone you aren’t expecting.
    1. NOTE: Let them leave a message and verify the number before calling back.
  7. During any call for other reasons: If there is even a shred of doubt about someone on a call, ask for proof of who they are in the form of something you have specified, not something they have specified.
  8. Install a decent virus software protection for all Windows computers.
  9. Assume all emails sent to you from someone not in your contacts is malicious and approach with caution.

Internet Purchases

  1. Never use a debit card or bank account for purchasing anything on the Internet.
  2. For Internet purchases, use PayPal, Amazon Pay or Google Pay with a credit card backing it.
  3. For any other Internet purchases that don’t accept PayPal, Amazon Pay or Google Pay, use a credit card.
    1. NOTE #1: Do not save your credit card information on the site.
    2. NOTE #2: Use virtual cards if your card company allows it.
  4. Enable phone alerts for all credit card and bank accounts – often in the phone apps or web site.
    1. NOTE #1: Set a phone alert or text for all purchases over $1.
    2. NOTE #2: Set a phone alert or text for any international purchase.

Identity Theft – Wow! It’s not a joke.

mikelunt1 Comment

A friend was recently revealing his encounters with someone writing forged checks all over town with his bank account and driver’s license numbers. While identity theft seems like one of those media generated fear campaigns, it is a real occurrence, and until I had heard this real life incident, I hadn’t realized how easy it was for someone to get your information and how much of a pain it is to fix the problems. Granted, your bank or credit card company already has a plan to get your money back, but the real issue becomes spending days and days fixing your credit, filing police reports, and dealing with all the merchants who have turned your information into collections agencies. Based on the information gathered from my friend’s frustrating misfortunes, here are some simple changes I’ve already made or will be making in the near future.

  • Never write checks for anything. It’s hard to say ‘never’ on this one, but online checking will definitely be the preferred method for me as it already is for most reoccurring bills. The hard part will be paying cash or credit card for the variety of home services work such as home improvements or housecleaning, but as mentioned earlier, this inconvenience is relatively minor.
  • Never put anything with theft potential in an unlocked mailbox. This one is easy to say ‘never’ due to the number of convenient secure mailboxes located around any city. Fortunately, I have centralized security mailboxes in my neighborhood, but the friend mentioned above believes his home-based mailbox is how his checking account information was acquired. The police mentioned it is very common for thieves to check the unsecured, individual mailboxes outside of many homes.
  • Keep your driver’s license hidden as much as possible. Apparently, the state doesn’t consider driver’s license numbers as protected, and most likely, you won’t be able to get a new one if your identity is abused. Therefore, it’s up to each individual to secure their license, even though it can be acquired via the Internet with a little bit of work. This latter fact is why it’s so important to protect the other account numbers, because the combination of license and account is all that’s needed.
  • Lock information inside your home. This can range from buying a small safe or just keeping account numbers in a locked file cabinet. Leaving bank and credit card statements out is just asking for trouble from the various services groups (air conditioning, painting, housecleaning, etc.) that may be inside a house over the course of time.
  • Shred everything before trashing. Apparently, another sneaky way to acquire information is by digging through the trash, and since a small shredder is so cheap, there’s no reason to throw out any documents without being shredded.