Identity Theft Prevention

For effective identity theft prevention, you must properly manage and protect your personal information. Prevention is your first line of defense against this crime and can save you a lot of pain and money, let alone from the feeling of being violated. When your identity is stolen, it's almost as if some stranger has broken into your house and penetrated your privacy. The feeling of being violated is much worse than having the material things stolen. This is one of the most important sections of this site.

As a starting point in your effort to prevent identity theft, learn about identity theft awareness. It all starts with the awareness that it can happen, why it happens, how it can be prevented, and who should and can take responsibility.

After you learn about identity theft awareness, switch your attention to identity protection and theft prevention. This can be done in a combination of 2 ways. First, learn about the identity KAOS™ principles , which I created to help manage and protect personal information. In summary; Identity KAOS™ has to do with Knowing, Assessing, Organizing and Securing your information. These identity protection principles must be applied all the time and become part of your identity theft prevention thought process in every thing you do that is related to and involves your personal information.

Second, after your understand the Identity KAOS™ principles, read the prevention tips presented below on this page. The preventive solutions in this section have been grouped into specific topics to better help you focus on your areas of interest, relevance and urgency. Enjoy the information and don't forget to sign up for the free newsletter for additional identity theft prevention tips.

Identity Theft Prevention Areas

Credit card fraud solutions Learn about preventing credit card fraud.
Travel security Increase your security awareness when you travel.
Computer security Apply the minimum computer security measures.

Identity Theft Prevention Articles

Multiple 401K Accounts Owning multiple 401K accounts presents a series of financial and identity theft risks, which should be considered and properly managed.
High Target Identity Identity theft may be facilitated by a high target identity to commit a specific identity fraud and crime. This article describes the high profile identity and who might be at a higher risk.
National Shred Day I think a well publicized National Shred Day would be a great event to help prevent identity theft and organize paper documents.
Dumpster Diving Risks We have to consider the dumpster diving risks as we throw away important documents and objects that contain our personal information.
Accident Information Car accidents are inevitable and as they occur, we must be ready to exchange all and only necessary car accident information for properly filing an insurance claim and other related paperwork.
Tax Refund Scam A typical tax refund scam can happen during any tax season but during a special tax refund year, scammers may have an upper hand against their victims.
Fraud Alert Risk The biggest fraud alert risk arises when companies fail to notice the fraud alerts in the credit reports and act responsibly to validate consumer identity.
LifeLock Review – Enrollment, Expectations and Benefits I enrolled for the LifeLock service and documented the sign-up process, my expectations and service benefits in this LifeLock review.
The LifeLock service I have been studying the LifeLock service for protecting my own identity. My analysis of the service and its benefits are described here.
Medical bill payments When facing medical bill payments, we have various options for making those payments. I considered my payment options when I received my medical bills.
Control your urge for credit We all get an urge for credit once in a while, but we have to analyze the reasons for our urge and take the appropriate actions based on our assessment.
When wallet is lost - consequences and actions Losing a wallet or purse may be inevitable but limiting damage and recovery can be proactively accomplished for times when wallet is lost.
Benefits of account and loan consolidation. Identity fraud inflicted on existing loan accounts can be reduced with proper assessment for account and loan consolidation.
Avoid fake unlicensed contractors. Some contractors we hire may be fake unlicensed contractors, therefore we have to make sure we only hire the right people for our safety.
Casino room charge card tips. In case you get a casino room charge card, destroy it immediately before it leads to identity fraud, which you may be liable for.
Quick ways to prevent identity theft. The information presented here provides a list of quick ways to prevent identity theft.
Valet parking service risks. There are some identity theft concerns and many other risks associated with using valet parking services.
Life insurance identity theft scam. Scams come in different forms and shapes but some people use life insurance identity theft scam to steal personal information and commit identity crime.
Managing natural disaster identity fraud risks. Natural disaster identity fraud risks are predictable before and after any natural disaster. Such fraud risk predictions must be taken seriously to avoid further disaster losses.
Dealing with conman scams. Scams come disguised in various forms and shape. Learn to separate scams from real deals and treat them as scams.
Trash collection and risks of identity theft. Improper trash handling for trash collection may create identity theft risks.
Dangers of digital copiers. New storage features in digital copiers create additional risks and require identity theft prevention mindset.
Fake overseas job offers. Did you just get an overseas job offer? Read this before you reply.
Use gift cards to prevent identity theft. This is a great identity theft prevention strategy if you buy too many coffees and other small items frequently.
Should you place a fraud alert or credit freeze? One way to prevent identity theft is to place a fraud alert or freeze on your credit reports. Learn the differences of both and pick the one that’s right for you.
Protect your existing accounts with an account freeze. An account freeze will put a stop to the unauthorized use of your existing accounts.
Avoid revealing your access code. Watch your back when you use your pass code in public places to access cash, your e-mail or make a phone call.
Safe holiday shopping. During the holidays, we go out shopping for friends and loved ones. Although, we all have our own shopping styles, there are certain actions that would ensure safe holiday shopping.
Avoid tax filer identity theft. You don't have to risk the theft of your identity when you file your taxes. Consider these tax filing tips for identity theft prevention.
Password security Learn about managing and securing your passwords, PINs and other secret codes.
Learn how to reduce your risk of identity theft during your job search. Jobseekers risk having their identities stolen by criminals if they do not manage their resumes with care. Online job searching has grown and so has online identity theft.
Remove labels and pre printed inserts from your magazines. These labels and inserts can be used to gather information about you.
Place fraud alerts to stop credit fraud. A fraud alert is a good identity theft prevention tool by forcing creditors to confirm your credit application directly with you.
Use credit freeze to block your credit reports. A credit freeze will stop others view your credit reports without your authorization for any reason.