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Identity Theft Protect Yourself and Be Aware
Whether you surf the internet for fun or business, identity theft
protect yourself is something we must all take seriously. Criminals
run numerous scams designed to prey upon the uninformed. You can
protect yourself from identity theft by understanding the tricks
that identity thieves use to lift your personal information and use
your name to obtain free money and rack up debts.
One of the most popular scams is called "phishing" -- pronounced
"fishing" -- and that's exactly what it comes down to. Thieves fish
for information. Protecting yourself from identity theft means being
able to decide when one of these criminals is trying to reel you in
to get your personal information.
"Phishing" usually involves a massive amount of emails sent out to
unsuspecting and random people, informing them of a suspended
account or an account that has possibly been compromised by fraud.
These phony emails are often easy to pick out as they are have bad
grammar and punctuation. A large corporation will dot every "i" and
cross every "t." Phishers may not. Protecting yourself from identity
theft may only requires you to have basic editing skills.
In another scam -- not involving the internet -- a crook may
approach you with a story that he or she is a bank employee, and
that you've been selected to help in the investigation of a
dishonest teller. The person pulling the old "bank examiner scam"
tells you that the manager will get in touch with you, and that you
will withdraw your own money for the investigation. The story is
really about identity theft. Remember that law enforcement would
never ask you to use your money for an investigation -- and identity
theft protect yourself means turning the cops onto the people who
asked you to do so.
Also, never give out personal credit card information to anyone who
claims to need information to investigate a fraudulent transaction.
Thieves use this con tactic to play on people's fear of losing their
identity. Never give out personal information or sensitive data on
the phone. There is no harm in hanging up and calling the credit
card company at a number you know is legitimate to confirm or
denounce any suspicions. Sometimes protecting yourself from identity
theft involves simply being leery of phone fraud.
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