Preventing Identity Theft Yourself

Did you know that next to a Life Lock enrollment and reading our free ebook, the next best weapon for preventing identity theft would cost you as little as 20 bucks, takes up no room and needs to be used just once a month?

Preventing identity theft is something we all need to actively pursue as it is now the fastest growing crime in the world and can have a devastating effect on anyone who is not aware or taken precautions against the problem.

When you consider the damage that can be caused by identity theft and how it can take sometimes years to correct the damage done, it’s scary that so few of us are actively looking at ways of preventing identity theft. Dealing with credit bureaus, police, banks, credit card companies etc. is not like reporting a stolen car after all but nowadays there are a few things we can all do to protect ourselves.

Signing up with Life Lock should be your first step; downloading our free ebook should be next and both these should be closely followed by the purchase of a household shredder machine.

A household shredder is a great weapon in your battle preventing identity theft. You can pick one up in just about any retail store and once you own one, it’s just a case of getting into the routine of shredding your personal documents once a month before putting the waste in the garbage.

Believe it or not some people still refuse to use a shredder even though they know they should be doing all they can in preventing identity theft. They cite the danger of shredding something they may later need. If you are of this opinion, here’s why you shouldn’t worry:

You are rarely asked for more than 3 months worth of utility bills so anything older you can shred. Bank statements can now be accessed online so once you receive your paper version and have had a good look through it for any strange activity, get it shredded. While it’s true the government insist we keep tax records for 10 years, anything older should be shredded. Anything else at all with personal details such as medical letters, things from work etc. should be shredded before throwing in the trash if you are serious about preventing identity theft.

Another excuse given for not using a shredder is time. If that’s you do as I do and simply save everything in a shoe box and then once a month pull it out and get the shredder going. If it’s summer time I often don’t bother with the shredder and use the contents to fire up the BBQ.

For more tips and tricks on preventing identity theft please download our free ebook “Identity Theft Facts.”