Who are you? Dealing with the problem of identity theft

The internet has allowed identity theft to become a real threat to consumers. Did you know that there are so many ways that people can steal your identity? It’s sad but true. And once they have your identity they can use your good name for their personal gain. Unfortunately, many of them get away without any repercussions. And you’re stuck paying for it!

 But you don’t have to let it happen. There are proactive strategies to keep it from happening. Here are some ways to help you fight identity theft and avoid having someone else ruin your good credit rating and keep you from getting the loan or mortgage you want to get.

 Be careful how much information you give out over the Internet.

 Never put your credit card number into an e-mail.

 If you do make purchases online only use sites that offer a high level of encryption and only use one credit card for all of your Internet purchases and make sure that credit card has a low limit. If you do that, no one will be able to ruin your credit rating even if they max out your credit card because the limit is so low!

 You should also be shredding all of your outgoing mail. A lot of your information is already on your garbage and all the thieves have to do is pick through your garbage and learn about you.

 Make sure that your mailbox is safe. You may have to rent a mailbox if you live in an area where it is not secure and private.

 Get a credit check done regularly to see if someone is ruining your credit rating. A credit report will tell you how many credit inquiries have been made and if you see any on there that you did not approve of, you should contact the credit bureau immediately.

 Why this talk about identity theft on a site about loans? Because if someone steals your identity they can get loans based on your credit rating and they will disappear with the goods while you get stuck with a bad credit report.