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Are You Vulnerable To Identity Theft?

Your information is less secure than you think. Here are 6 ways thieves can get your personal information, and create a personal nightmare for you:

1. They Can Steal Your Wallet or Purse: This one is the simplest way for thieves to get your personal information. Health clubs are a big hunting ground for wallet thieves. Make sure you put a padlock on your day locker. Also, be wary of pick pockets in public places. Consider carrying your wallet in your front pocket. Or consider wrapping the strap of your purse around you more firmly.

2 They Can Buy Your Information From "Inside" Sources: We've all wondered what that sketchy looking waiter was doing with our credit card as he disappeared around the corner. Most of the time they're honest, but the most dangerous of them are in league with credit card stealing rings. A contact will collect credit card numbers from a waiter or clerk, and sell them to a bigger international credit card ring.

3. They Can Rummage Through Your Trash: Identity thieves are not above a little dumpster diving. It can pay off big for them. If they find pre-approved credit cards, they might be able to get a card in your name. If they find copies of your tax return, or your bank statement, they can cause all kinds of problems.

4. They Can Hack Into A Computer On The Internet Where Your Information Is Stored: If you keep your credit card information on line, this information could be recovered by thieves. All reputable sites will encrypt your information, but this is sometimes not enough. Banks have been hit. Major retailers have been hit. Major internet service sites (like Monster.com) have been hit. Try to keep to a minimum the amount of your information you let companies store in their databases.

5. They Could Steal Your Phone: They don't even need to steal your phone for long. They could just "borrow" your phone to "call their dying mother" request a couple minutes of "privacy", and have all the room they need to find whatever there is to find on your phone. At the least they could use your address to feed your friend's phone numbers into their phone spam ring, and your friends will suddenly see an increase in unwanted dinnertime calls.

6. Phone Phishing: They could pose as someone "official" on the phone. Susie: "Hi. This is Susie from 'Your Favorite Bank', and I'm seeing some suspicious activity here. Did you recently change your address?" You: "Er, yeah." Susie: "Can I get the updated information from you?" You: "Sure." Susie: "OK, I'm going to need your social security number, to verify your account, and then I'm going to need the new address . . ." You get the point.

Can you do anything about these forms of identity theft? Well, you can take more care with your information, in some of the ways mentioned above. But there are now also ways to get indentity theft protection. Take some time to check them out.

Article Source: http://www.ezarticles.info

Jim Stone advises individuals about how increase the security in six areas of their lives. Get Educated About How To Secure Your Identity at SixFoldSecurity.com