How can you prevent identity or credit theft?
You’ve probably heard a lot of tips on credit fraud, but are you paying attention to the risk of identity fraud? This past week a big story broke in Calgary after 38 gas stations were hit with credit card skimming devices, affecting the credit of 3,000 Calgarians.
Credit card scams can lead to big headaches, including identity theft. Here’s what the Calgary Police say about preventing your risk of being hit with a card skimmer:
- She urged Calgarians to check their credit card statements for any abnormal charges, as well as to check pay-at-the-pump credit card readers to see if skimmers have been attached to them.
- “In the past we’ve said jiggle the device. Really you have to give it quite a hard pull. Investigators found … it was a matter of pulling it several times, just to get it off,” she said.
When someone’s identity is stolen, it’s usually for the purposes of using your finances, which can have a damaging (and sometimes permanent) affect on your credit.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, last year they received more than 19,000 identity theft reports, which totaled $11.1 million in losses.
Every time a credit product is applied for on your behalf, or your credit score is requested, your credit rating is affected negatively. Most identity theft cases involve high amounts of financial fraud as well. Here’s some tips for protecting yourself:
- Sign up for automatic updates from credit agencies like Equifax, so you can be notified anytime something changes with your score.
- Monitor your accounts and credit cards regularly, online banking is the easiest way to do that.
- All personal information and documents containing social insurance numbers and banking information, should be shredded and disposed of after use.
- Be wary of sharing personal information over phone or email, and if you do, be very certain of who you’re speaking to. Hint: banks and financial institutions will never call you from a blocked or untraceable number.
- If you’re entering information on a website, ensure it is a secured site and begins with https:// or has a padlock in the URL box.
Be safe with your personal information, and let me know if you’re looking for more resources on fraud prevention.
