8 Ways to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

Data hacking has been one of the most common cybercrime in present times. It is surely high time to protect your data and other financial information from getting hacked. It doesn't require a great move but with small resolutions, you can surely make big changes. Most of the common identity theft issues that come into the public domain are the misuse of personal information to rack up your purchase, file fraudulent tax returns, or open some accounts in your name. You can get in touch with identity theft attorney Georgia, in case you find any fraudulent activity.

Here are some of the tried and tested ways in which you can safeguard all your data from being misused at any place:

●       Always opt for bank alerts over mobile devices and email

It is not possible to go through the bank statement every single day. The best way to get all the information about your bank account or credit card account is to sign up for alerts. You will get a notification from your bank about all the activity that has taken place. It would be even better if you can download the official mobile banking app of your concerned bank. In case you find any inconsistency, you can immediately get in touch with the concerned department to take charge.

●       Monitor your credit reports

You can ask for a free credit report from your credit reporting agency once in a year. After the receipt of the report, you can go through them and must figure out if anything is incorrect. You need to find out any accounts and addresses that you are unaware of. If anything seems to be suspicious, you need to get in touch with the credit report authority and your concerned bank.

●       Maintain your passwords

It is a matter of fact that saving a password to the computer seems to be a very easy task and all do it. But with doing that extra step you are making yourself one step more vulnerable to hackers looking for prey. It becomes very easy for hackers to instigate security breach. Many people think of using a complex password structure and have the impression that their account is safe. But this is one of the most common misconceptions in this digital age. If you want to restrict login into your account, you would need to make sure that you change your passwords on a regular interval. And one more thing that you should at all times keep in mind is you should only perform banking transactions when you are connected to a secure private network.

●       Never get carried away with the unsolicited emails

Hackers and identity thieves trick you by sending you fake emails with various offers and services to get your credentials. The mail received from these thieves appears to have come from the legitimate company but you need to be very attentive when reacting with those mails. When you find any such mail from your bank, you need to be more cautious. It is highly recommended not to interact with those mails if you want to play safe. Not only over mails, many a time these scammers may give you a call and introduce themselves as an employee of your bank and ask for various personal bank related documents like account number, card number, expiry date and CVV. You should contact your bank and identity theft attorney Georgia immediately as and when you receive such mail. 

●       Shred your documents throwing away

It is not at all the times when hackers over the internet can be the reason for identity theft. Low tech thieves steal important documents from your trash. So, before throwing out anything, you should properly figure out what important information those documents have and properly shred the documents into smaller pieces so that retrieving information from them is next to impossible.

●       Limit your information on social media

Social media has been the new buzz at the present times and it is a matter of fact that many individuals love to overshare information about them on the social forum. Hackers and identity thieves are at all times search for such profile from which they can get enough information without manipulating things at all. Be careful when sharing your date of birth and pet’s name on social media. By doing this you are making yourself one step close to being hacked. Fraud defence attorney Cobb county can be of great help when your identity is being misused over social media.

●       Secure your mailboxes as well as your mobile devices

It has happened many a time that identity thieves have stolen documents information about bank details as well as other sensitive documents from mailboxes and insure mobile devices. You should follow two-step verification as well as make it a habit to retrieve mails as soon as you receive it and encrypt your devices as much as possible. In case of any fraud related to your bank accounts, you can get in touch with a fraud defense attorney.

●       Store important documents in a safe and secure place

You should make it a habit to store all the important documents in a safe and secure place. It would be better if you can keep all your debit and credit cards, birth certificates, extra cheque books, health insurance bonds, passports in a security safe so that there is no other access. An identity theft defense attorney will be of great help when things go south and your identity is compromised.