5 Ways on How to Prevent Identity Theft
The comfort of all the easy access of online banking had gave way for a lot of people to be lax when. Online banking is the way almost all people deal with finances nowadays, since it is free and easy to use.
The next day money transfer and the free bill payments online have made our lives easier compared to those days when you have to put up with the long lines in banks. However, with great power comes with great responsibility as a famous superhero quoted.
All these transactions may be made easy, but there are certain preventive measures we must do as to avoid a huge trouble. The problem with online banking is that there is no other way of confirmation aside from the bank account number and details.
This can be a huge problem if someone you don’t know has an idea of these details and use your account to borrow money from creditors or even withdraw the money using your bank account- this is an example of an identity theft. The only way we can avoid this situation is by knowing.
The first thing you could do to prevent identity theft is by avoiding the use of public computers in accessing for your credit cards or bank account. These data can usually be stored in computers’ cookies so they are very accessible to scammers.
If there is no other means for you to find a personal computer, make sure to delete the stored cookies on the public computer that you used after you have logged out. But, there are some computers that you cannot gain access to the internet options unless you are the main administrator.
Therefore, if you have no choice but to use a public computer to access your bank accounts, you have to make sure first that you can access the internet options before you start.
The second thing you should to as to prevent chances of identity theft is to avoid giving out personal checks to unfamiliar people to you. Instead, use cash or money order to be safe.
The account number, bank routing number and your name can be found when you write a personal check and these details are what only a person need to gain access to your bank account through online.
Once they have this information, there is a big chance you will become a victim of identity theft. You should also be keen when you want to be sure on how to prevent identity theft.
If hackers are determined to steal your identity, they will retrieve your vital information up to the point of searching through your trash for bank statements or any detail they can have to prove that you are them. Therefore, make sure you shred your statements into bits of pieces before throwing them into the trash.
Lastly, knowing how to prevent identity theft also means that you know that leaving your computer in “sleep” mode when you are not in, is not a very good idea. Your bank account and details would be open for everyone to look at. You will be inviting a lot of hackers into your account.
