Consumer Credit Fraud and Identity Theft | Credit Check Report

Identity theft and credit card fraud have reached epidemic proportions. We've all seen the humourous CitiBank commercials with the poor, everyday people falling victim to credit card theft. But it's no laughing matter! While you can never protect yourself completely without being greatly inconvenienced, you can greatly minimize the chances that the next victim is you.

Identity theives are opportunists. They discover personal and financial information for people and as they get enough to exploit it, they will use that information to open up fraudulent credit accounts, loans, even purchase cars and other big-ticket items under the assumed identity.

Be careful and vigilant with anything that has your personal information on it. Shred any documents that has account numbers on it. Don't leave your mail unattented for very long (e.g. if you go on vacation, put your mail on hold.) Don't use easy to guess or obtain passwords for security codes, like your mother's maiden name. Next time you're speaking to a service provider on the phone and they "confirm your identity" by simply asking for your mother's maiden name or the last 4 digits of your social security number, remind yourself how easy it would be for someone else to do the same armed with just a little information about you.

More and more we perform secure transactions on the internet. Don't use the same username and password on every website that asks for that information. While nearly all websites are completely trustworthy, it's possible for someone to read this information if they gain unlawful access.

Finally, be very wary of any instant message or email that sends you to a website that asks for your account information. No bank or service will ever send you an email asking you to confirm your information.

Read more tips and suggestions on preventing credit fraud and itentity theft.