Nine basic steps to prevent Identity Fraud

Identity Fraud is one of the fastest growing crimes.

Identity Fraud is becoming a major problem and anyone can have their identity stolen and in a recent case in the paper the thief was the person's sister.

With the amount of information about you on the internet and held by all sorts of organisations including the government, banks and suppliers (i.e. supermarkets etc.) you need to manage the information you are giving out and try to keep it to a minimum.

The precautions to be taken are:

1. Never give personal information to someone who calls you on the telephone. Especially if you are not expecting the call. Banks, shops and companies may do cold calling for market research. If they say it's for market research always ask for the phone number of the supervising body.

2. If you are interested in what they have to offer. Either check their identity by calling them back or ask them to put some information in the post.

3. If you have not had dealings with a company. Do Not give them personal information.

4. Always destroy any documents which a fraudster could use.Bank and Credit Card Statements, cheque book studs and till receipts should either be shredded or burned and the ashes broken up.I have an incinerator in which I have a fire about once a month to burn all my confidential waste. For me this includes accounts and envelopes which my name and address.

5. When you get emails requesting personal information. Delete them.

6. Don't respond to emails that offer you amounts of money for using your bank account to transfer cash from banks in third world countries. These are scams and people have lost large amounts of money.

7. Always arrange for your mail to be re-directed when you move to a new address.

8. Keep a list of all your Debit and Credit Card numbers so that if you loose one you have the details to cancel the card. The earlier you inform the bank of a lost card the better.

9. Always check your financial statements, banks, credit cards etc and if possible check them online. The quicker you spot an error or misuse the better the chances of stopping it escalating.

If you follow the above steps, you have a good chance of avoiding identity and other frauds.

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