Paul Dreher Director of Personal Insurance View Bio

Identity Theft Protection

Identity theft occurs when someone appropriates another person’s personal information without his or her knowledge in order to commit fraud or theft. These identity thieves may open charge accounts in the victim’s name and thus borrow money and even perpetrate felonies. The Federal Trade Commission found that complaints of identity theft have increased rapidly during the last several years, making it one of the country’s fastest growing crimes. The United States Secret Service estimates that consumers nationwide lose over $800 million to identity theft each year. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the normal victim spends over 500 hours clearing his or her credit record.

What can you do to reduce your chances of becoming a victim? Here are some examples of ways to implement identity theft protection:

  • Credit records should be checked each year to verify all the information is accurate. In addition, creditors should be contacted if various bills do not arrive in time. A missing credit card bill could mean an identity thief has taken over the credit card account and changed the billing address to cover his tracks.
  • All old financial documents, including bank statements and credit card bills, should be shredded to reduce the exposure to what is called “dumpster diving.”
  • Persons should not carry their social security card with them; rather it should be secured in a safety deposit box.
  • Unlocked residential mailboxes should not be used to drop off outgoing mail, since mail can be easily stolen.
  • Social security numbers or driver’s license number should not be printed on personal checks.
  • Persons should ask their insurance agent about an identity theft endorsement providing protection if an identity is stolen.
Source: International Risk Management Institute, Inc.