Smart Moves To Stop Identity Fraud Bankrate.com Caret RightMain Menu Mortgage Mortgages Financing a home purchase Refinancing your existing loan Finding the right lender Additional Resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Bank Banking Compare Accounts Use calculators Get advice Bank reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Credit Card Credit cards Compare by category Compare by credit needed Compare by issuer Get advice Looking for the perfect credit card? Narrow your search with CardMatch Caret RightMain Menu Loan Loans Personal Loans Student Loans Auto Loans Loan calculators Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Invest Investing Best of Brokerages and robo-advisors Learn the basics Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Home Equity Home equity Get the best rates Lender reviews Use calculators Knowledge base Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Loan Home Improvement Real estate Selling a home Buying a home Finding the right agent Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Insurance Insurance Car insurance Homeowners insurance Other insurance Company reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Retirement Retirement Retirement plans & accounts Learn the basics Retirement calculators Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Advertiser Disclosure
Advertiser Disclosure
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover. How We Make Money
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you. SHARE: @ashiqkhan/Twenty20 December 21, 2017 Bankrate.com Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by and edited by , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Our banking reporters and editors focus on the points consumers care about most — the best banks, latest rates, different types of accounts, money-saving tips and more — so you can feel confident as you’re managing your money. Bankrate logo Editorial integrity
Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers. Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo How we make money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. Identity fraud has become a huge concern — and with good reason. In 2016, 15.4 million people were victims of ID theft, according to Javelin Strategy & Research. Meanwhile, hacking incidents like continue to increase. While you can’t protect yourself completely from ID theft, there are important steps you can take to minimize your chances of becoming a target. Identity fraud An overview
When you think of identity theft, you probably think of someone stealing your or possibly opening new lines of credit in your name. But there are many crimes that someone can commit by using your personal information. For instance, a thief can use your Social Security number to file a false tax return, obtain employment or collect government benefits in your name. These crimes can injure your credit rating, and it can take time and money to undo the damage. Your best course is to try to stop identity fraud before it happens. Steps to stop identity fraud
You can sign up for an identity theft protection service, but the most effective measures against crime are things you can do yourself: Monitor your credit. You can get free credit reports and check up on your credit history at . Monitor your credit to make sure that no new accounts have been opened that you don’t recognize. In the meantime, check your credit cards and bank statements weekly for fraudulent transactions. Ignore unsolicited requests for your information. If someone asks for your name, birth date, Social Security number, credit or bank account number by phone, online or mail, don’t respond. Avoid a paper trail. It’s safer to receive bills online than in the mail, but if you use the mail, get a locking mailbox or PO box. When you are out of town, put a hold on your mail. And make sure you shred any papers containing your personal information. Keep your devices safe. Use strong, complex passwords to protect your devices. Install firewalls and anti-virus protection on your computers, too, and avoid using public Wi-Fi to make transactions or view your accounts. Don’t give too much away on social media. Identity thieves will use information about your life to answer “challenge” questions about you to gain access to your accounts. Instead, review your privacy settings on social media sites and avoid posting such details as your address and telephone number. Take extreme caution with your Social Security number. This number is the golden ticket for identity thieves. Never carry it with you, and give it out only when absolutely necessary. What if your data has been compromised
If your information has been exposed in a data breach, consider placing a credit freeze with each of the three credit agencies so that no one can open new credit in your name. Doing so costs about $10 per bureau, and you will have to unfreeze your account if you want to apply for a new line of credit. If you have already become a victim of ID theft, the government’s website will walk you through the steps you should take to file a report and start a recovery plan. You should also contact one of the three credit bureaus to place a free fraud alert. (The company you alert will tell the other two.) Phone: 888-766-0008 Phone: 888-397-3742 Phone: 800-680-7289 By taking these measures, even if you have not stopped identity fraud, you can minimize the damage. SHARE: Bankrate.com Related Articles