Tips to Prevent Identity Theft
You’ve probably heard a lot of tips on credit and insurance fraud in the past, but are you paying attention to the risk of identity fraud? 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.
