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Protect Your Identity Today or Deal with Identity Theft Tomorrow By John Campbell Protect your identity today and you may not have to repair the damage a thief could wreak on your finances and your credit tomorrow. Would-be thieves and scammers are as devious as ever, employing whatever low- or high-tech methods at their disposal to steal consumers’ vital personal information, money and credit. There are a lot of things you can do to protect your personal information; your social security number, bank account information, credit or debit card numbers and even online passwords. A bit of prevention today will save you a lot of hassle in the future. The most vital piece of information that you must protect is your social security number. For the most part, your nine digit social security number is your identity. A thief holding your social security number could potentially assume your identity, max out your credit and commit other crimes in your name. Your life could be devastated for years to come. Don’t ever let anyone see your social security number unless it’s absolutely necessary! A number of banks of other businesses will use your social security number as an ID number. Doing so is actually against the law but the law is rarely, if ever, enforced. You may be able to get your driver’s license number used as an alternate ID number, depending on the rules and regulations of the particular company you are dealing with. If you have to provide your social security or a credit or debit card number to a company you do business with, find out exactly what the company does to protect your information from prying eyes. Beware of companies that don’t have stringent security procedures in place to protect your vital information. If your information is easily accessible to any employee, a dishonest employee could easily steal your information and use it against you. Online, you may be at even further risk in the growing world of eCommerce. Make sure any Web site you may do business with employs 128-bit encryption and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocols to protect your credit or debit card numbers. Also, a good software or hardware firewall, up-to-date antivirus and antispyware software is recommended to further protect the account data that may be stored within your computer. The strongest security in the world won’t prevent people from seeing your information if you are careless, however. Any hard copies of your sensitive information, including statements and various account documents, should be either locked away in a safe or shredded immediately. A thief rummaging through your garbage may be able to find your information very easily if you don’t destroy any vital documents before dumping them. Thieves often don’t even have to root through garbage to get your vital information. All they really have to do is keep a watchful eye on you. If you use a debit or credit card in public, make sure nobody is standing too close to you when you swipe your card. A thief hiding in plain sight may be intent on seeing your card number without your knowledge. If you have to sign a credit card receipt your credit card number will likely be reprinted on the receipt. In most cases the first 12 of the 16 digits comprising your credit card number will be blacked out. If not, you are allowed by law to black out the first 12 numbers in person. Don’t let any uninformed cashier deny you your legal right to protect your account numbers. Protection from identity theft begins with you. The steps you take today can keep your credit and your financial future from falling into the wrong hands. About the Author: © cashbuzz.com John Campbell is the writer and editor of CashBuzz, A financial portal for the rest of us. Check out cashbuzz.com for the latest articles on money management and tips and tricks that can help improve your finances. This article may be reprinted on your Web site if the copyright, author information and active link are included.

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