Indohyus Fraud Protection

Being a victim of identity theft is a horrible thing to go through. It has been said that identity theft is the largest white collar crime in the history of the United States. It can be hard to recover from identity theft and as more identity theft and fraud cases increase, more people are facing troubles that they never thought possible.

The biggest misconception is that identity theft only affects or involves your credit. In addition to credit related identity theft, there are other categories of identity theft that will not necessarily affect your credit, but can ruin your life.

Here are a few key tips for preventing identity theft before it happens to you.

Always tear up or shred credit card applications that are pre-approved and any other personal papers with private personal information before throwing them away.

Keep your receipts after purchases and go over your billing and credit card report every month to make sure there are no fraudulent charges on your statements.

Never carry your Social Security Card in your purse or wallet. In addition, you should never write this number down and carry it with you. Scraps of paper can easily be lost and a criminal just might figure out what the number is.

Don’t let mail accumulate in your mailbox. Identity thieves are constantly on the lookout for mailboxes that may contain pre-approved credit card offerings. When going on vacation, contact the post office so that your mail delivery is temporarily suspended. This also avoids giving clues that the house is empty.

Keep all of your passwords as confidential as possible. Don’t use the same password on all of your online accounts. Use a different password for each and construct passwords with a combination of numbers, capital letters, and, if possible, symbols.

Stay abreast of the latest online fraud tactics. Knowing what scams are out there can help individuals practice safer Web browsing behavior.

Be aware and use your common sense so you won’t become a victim of this terrible crime that shatters lives. Use these identity theft protection tips and you will have a better chance to protect yourself from online identity theft.

The Playstation Network and Qriocity breaches made headlines around the world. It made Sony have to shut down the services for almost a month while they were trying to restore service and improve their security measures. After that, they had to offer fraud protection services to their members because their information may have been stolen. Some people have missed the deadline to redeem their voucher for a complimentary year of free ID protection. Fortunately for them, Sony has announced that it is extending the deadline for the AllClearID Plus Identity protection program until July 31.

Included in the offer, there is cyber monitoring and surveillance to detect whether a user’s information is being used fraudulently, access to private investigators and a $1 million identity theft insurance policy per user. This coverage amount is similar to what is offered by Lifelock, a leading company in the area of identity theft protection services. Sony is not going with Lifelock, though; instead, they have signed with Debix.

The extension only applies to U.S. customers, though the company said it will release details for Canada and Latin America “soon.”

Scammers are creative people. In North Carolina, the Attorney General is warning people that scammers are somehow figuring out what banks they use, and then use that information to call and impersonate the bank.

Even though the calls are actually from overseas, the scammers have access to technology that makes the call look like they’re from the United States. The sad part is that the scam itself is deceptively simple.

The call looks to be from an official number. Once you pick up, a recording warns you that your debit card has been blocked, and prompts you to press 1. Once you do, you are then transferred to a live person that collects the account number and PIN so the account can be “unblocked”.

Of course, you don’t even need to ask what those people do with the account numbers and pins they collect.

Of course, no financial institution will ever call you to ask that information, because they already have it. If you ever get a call or an email that is supposedly warning you about a problem in your account, don’t respond. Contact the financial institution yourself, using the number that’s in the back of your card or in your account statements.

Unfortunately, as long as they get people to fall for the scam, the crooks will never stop.

In 2010 an estimated 11.1 million people in the United States were identity theft victims, losing a total of $54 billion, according to a study by Javelin Strategy and Research. In response to the growing problem, many cities have partnered with identity theft protection services to organize seminars and workshops to educate the people on how to protect themselves. Financial institutions have also joined in the effort, and now a good number of them offer an identity theft protection service in their services packages. Because a bank handles so much of your personal information, it can be a very effective ally in the fight, and it makes for good business because it’s a great marketing tool. There are various plans, but a few really stand out. Among big banks, Citibank’s IdentityMonitor is excellent. That doesn’t mean small banks don’t step it up: Canandaigua National Bank and Trust in New York offers surprisingly strong protection to customers. Citibank’s service is $12.95 a month, while Canandaigua’s is free.

In 2007 nearly 130 banks and credit unions in the United States offered free ID theft protection. Four years later many more do and this is something to keep in mind and ask your banker about.