Identity Theft is Not
Funny or,
7 Things you can do
to protect your identity © 2013 by Wayne Dan. Lewis, Sr.
One of the top box office movies is “Identity Thief”[1]
starring Melessa McCarthy. I love her in
Mike and Molly, and think that she is a wonderful actress. Her personality is not overshadowed by her
acting. I see a real down-home person
and I am very proud of her and the whole cast of the Mike and Molly Show[2] .
The movie, Identity Thief, reminds me of another movie from
over 10 or so years ago with another great actress, Sandra Bullock. She starred in: “The Net”[3].
The one thing both of these movies have in common, despite their time difference, is
their relevance to the unauthorized, illegal, or, literal theft of people’s
identity. While one movie has a comedic
punch to it, the issue that both brings home are nothing short of serious. While I have not seen “Identity Thief”, you
can be sure that it is high on my list of anticipated movies to catch soon. But the point remains that identity theft, in
its very form, is the very depth of practically removing your identity and
using it by person(s) known or unknown for an activity or activities that you
may not be involved in, nor would sanction, if you were in such a position.
I have personally been a victim of identity theft, however
on a small enough scale, as far as I know, to a point where it was minimized as
quickly as possible. It was over a year
ago, but nothing to this date suggests that any further compromises have
occurred. But I was lucky that time. But what about next time? Will I know in time? Will I get laxed and not check my bank
account? Will the bank call me to let me
know? Should I check other avenues? I have included a few links to answer some of these very questions within this blog.
There are so many ways that our identities can be stolen,
and too often, we don’t find out until the damage is almost irreparable. While it is not absolutely impossible to steal
our identities, there are things that we can do to protect our identities, and
just as importantly, our wealth. Here
are 7 things that I suggest that we can focus on to protect our identity, in no set order.
- Change our passwords on bank accounts or investment portfolios. You can set the pattern.
- Don’t write your passwords on or near your ATM cards, or leave your pass codes in your wallet or purse. I remember one time when I investigated a theft from a safe, the combination was written next to the handle on the safe.
- Avoid saving your passwords on your computer or phones to your bank accounts. It may seem easier the next time you try to pull up your accounts that your entry will automatically come up and you won’t have to bother about putting your password or code in, but for today’s identity their, you will have saved them a lot of work, or maybe, made their day.
- Give kids gift cards instead of your credit or ATM cards. While we would all like to believe that all of our children are responsible, let’s be real. Kids have little regard for the consequences of their actions, and unless they know that they are going to be hacked into little pieces (no cards and letters please), they generally act with little regard to loosing a credit card or even protecting the value of it. Suggestion: get your kids a gift card for a set amount, and that way, they will be more likely to protect it, and learn more responsibility.
- TMI-Too Much Information! Often I can tell people more about themselves by how loud they talk on their cell phones. They seem to forget that everyone isn’t ignoring them, and that something they may say or do will actually result in their being victimized, if not right there, perhaps to be followed and then taken advantage of. Suggestion: try to hold your private conversations in private, don’t reveal personal information such as where you are going tonight, or that you’ll be “all alone tonight”, leaving yourself and family vulnerable to an attack and loss of important papers.
- Your car holds your insurance papers, vehicle registration and perhaps other important papers. Obviously, when you are stopped by the police, you have to produce these documents. One day, we will hopefully have all of this information where it can be scaned and there won’t be a need to search through the old glove compartment (inventors anyone?). Yes, your car is an extension of your home and naturally, we want to treat our car as our second home. Unfortunately, that means light bills, gas bills, telephone bill receipts, etc. Any of these documents could be used to establish a new identity. Suggestion: Keep with your records at home, or tear them up and throw them away.
- Email alerts! They are pretty frequent. “My bank” sends me alerts on numerous occasions warning me that my account has be hacked and that I should “click here” and be prepared to give information that they don’t ever ask for in an email. Suggestion: Don’t “click here” and don’t give information to sources that you did not contact first.
While these suggestions are not necessarily new, neither is stilling someone's belongings, as well as their identity. The important thing to remember about wealth building, is
that it is not enough to build it, if you don’t know something about
protecting it. To me, wealth building is a daily activity, and so it protecting it. Some of the greatest
millionaires have lost thousands, if not millions of dollars after working so hard to acquire
wealth. While there is no fool-proof way
of protecting your wealth, at least for those who have intentions of taking it,
give them a run for your money. Continue
to protect your wealth, as you continue to build your wealth.
The Coveted Commandment-Thou Shalt Build Wealth © 2013 by
Wayne Dan Lewis, Sr.
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