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How Can You Protect Your Personal Identity Information?

Dec 19, 2016, 07:00 AM by System

Identity thieves, like cold germs, seem to be all around us using stolen Social Security Numbers (SSNs) and other personal identity information (PII), in schemes to line their pockets while ruining the victim’s credit and financial standing.

When PII falls into the wrong hands, crooks can use that information to open and use new accounts, get medical care or other services, and wreak all kinds of financial havoc on unsuspecting prey. Clearly, protecting our confidential information is as important – perhaps even more important – than protecting ourselves against the common cold. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) suggests several ways to keep confidential data safe:

Be Proactive:

Be suspicious of calls about debts you have not incurred.
Check your credit card or bank accounts for unauthorized charges.
Review your health benefits claims for services you have not received.
On an annual basis, review all of your credit reports for any anomalies or suspicious accounts free at AnnualCreditReport.com.
Subscribe to credit and identity monitoring services, and understand the differences each service provides before contracting

Know who you share information with:

Lock financial documents and records in a safe place at home.
At work, keep your purse or wallet safe from others.
When you go out, take only the ID, credit or debit cards you need, and always leave your Social Security card at home.
Before you share information at your workplace, a business, or your child's school, ask why they need it and how they will safeguard it.
Shred credit and bank statements, insurance forms, and any other documents containing PII before discarding them.
Destroy labels on prescription bottles before you throw them out.

Protect Your Mail:

Take outgoing mail to post office collection boxes.
Promptly remove mail from your mailbox, and request vacation holds when you are away.

Be alert to impersonators:

Don’t give out personal information on the phone, through the mail or over the Internet unless you’ve initiated the contact.
If a company that claims to have an account with you sends email asking for personal data, don’t click on links. Contact customer service on your latest statement and ask whether they really sent a request.

Keep passwords private and don’t overshare:

Use strong passwords for your laptop and accounts. Think of a phrase and use the first letter of each word as your password, substituting numbers for some. For example, “I want to see the Pacific Ocean” could become Iw2CtPO.
Use encrypted password storage software to create unique strong passwords for all sites you are required to login to.
Never use the same password in the event it is compromised and change it annually on your birthday.
Don’t post PII on social media. Never share your Social Security number, address, or account numbers on publicly accessible sites.

Keep your devices secure:

Use and update anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, and a firewall.
Avoid ‘phishing’ emails. Don’t open files or click on links sent by strangers.
Avoid keeping financial information on your laptop. Don’t use an automatic login feature that saves your user name and password, and always log off when you’re finished.
Avoid sending PII over your laptop or smartphone on a public wireless network in a public area.

Roger Young is an Information Security Professional, with over 22 years of experience. In his current role, he is responsible for Information Security, Privacy Oversight, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity. Roger has investigated mortgage fraud, wire fraud and identity theft cases throughout his career.

Published with permission from RISMedia.