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Here are a few ways identity thieves can get your social security number, your credit card numbers, your login names and passwords, and other sensitive information: 1. They Can Steal Your Personal Information From Your Home During A Burglary: Dumber burglars are usually after drug money, and will look for cash and things they can easily pawn off at a pawn shop. More sophisticated burglars will skip the pawn shop and rifle through your file cabinet and stacks of personal records. Make sure your house is as secure as possible, and consider getting a file cabinet with a lock on it. 2 They Can Buy Your Information From "Inside" Sources: We've all wondered what that sketchy looking waiter was doing with our credit card as he disappeared around the corner. Most of the time they're honest, but the most dangerous of them are in league with credit card stealing rings. A contact will collect credit card numbers from a waiter or clerk, and sell them to a bigger international credit card ring. 3. The Carbon-Paper-Bank Trick: You know those pads of deposit slips? Those can be used by identity thieves to get your bank account numbers and other personal information. When you write out your deposit slip on the whole pad, an indentation occurs on the slip immediately below your slip. A savy thief can come along right after you and pocket that second slip, pocketing some of your personal information. When you write out deposit slips, take one slip off the pad, and then write it out. 4. They Can Become Your False Friend On Your Favorite Forums: Fraudsters can be really tricky, and really mean. Men will pose as women who lure unsuspecting men into "relationships" and then con them into sending them all kinds of gifts. Or they'll set up a business opportunity, and they'll let you in on it because you're their "friend". Be very careful, because that's not all. Meet with the wrong person you met online and you could wind up losing more than your identity. 5. They Could Steal Your PDA: They're so handy. So small. So cute. And so utterly stealable (is that even a word?). Leave your PDA for a minute and it could be gone. Leave sensitive information on it (passwords, credit card information, social security numbers), and you might find yourself in serious credit trouble without even knowing you were spending money or taking out loans. 6. Phone Phishing: They could pose as someone "official" on the phone. Susie: "Hi. This is Susie from 'Your Favorite Bank', and I'm seeing some suspicious activity here. Did you recently change your address?" You: "Er, yeah." Susie: "Can I get the updated information from you?" You: "Sure." Susie: "OK, I'm going to need your social security number, to verify your account, and then I'm going to need the new address . . ." You get the point. So what can you do about identity theft? Well, you can't get completely protected, but you can get insured through various identity theft protection services. Check them out. They're very inexpensive compared to the peace of mind they bring.
Article Source: http://www.philvault.com
Jim Stone advises individuals about how increase the security in six areas of their lives. Get Educated About How To Secure Your Identity at www.SixFoldSecurity.com
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