Protecting Yourself From Fraud

Monitoring your credit report is important to help keep you from becoming victim to financial fraud.

How can you protect yourself from fraud?

Protect your Social Security number. If you give out your social security number make sure you trust who you are providing it to. There are times that providing it is required, so for me I won’t provide it to someone that has contacted me and wants me to verify information. Hackers and scammers will call posing as XX company and get you to provide sensitive information to them.

Don’t take the bait when it comes to “phishing” emails. Make sure you know and trust the source of emails. For me personally when I received an email, even if it looks like a legit email, I verify the senders email and instead of following links within the email I received, I go to the senders website directly and handle what the email was wanting me to do. Many hackers will use “phishing” emails that look just like a legit company, but it is being sent from a fraudulent source in order to steal your information.

Create strong passwords. Creating strong passwords that include uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters is important. Also, do not save passwords on unsecured devices.

Keep tabs on your bank accounts and statements. Make sure to keep an eye on your bank accounts and other accounts for any questionable activities. If you notice any unauthorized transactions, ones that you didn’t make, make sure you report them right away.

Sign up for Identify Theft. According to LifeLock over $29 billion was stolen by identity thieves in 2022. There’s a victim of identity theft in the U.S. every 3 second. I personally use LifeLock for identity theft protection. I have had people try to open credit cards using my personal information, but with LifeLock it gives me peace of mind to handle any alerts and activities that were not initiated by me.

How can you protect your credit?

You can put a Security Freeze on your credit as well as a Fraud Alert.

What is a fraud alert?

According to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “a fraud alert requires creditors, who check your credit report, to take steps to verify your identity before they open an new account, issue an additional card or increase limit on an existing account based on a consumer’s request.”

Once you place a Fraud Alert on your it will last for one year. You will need to renew it once it expires if you want to keep the Fraud Alert active. Also, once you place the alert with one of he nationwide reporting companies, they must report it to the other companies as well.

What is a Security Freeze?

According to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “Under federal law, you can freeze and unfreeze your credit record for free at the three nationwide credit reporting companies – Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. A security freeze, also called a credit freeze, stops new creditors from accessing your credit file until you lift the freeze.”

Resources to place Freezes and Alerts

How I can help you.

When it comes to our personal finances it can be stressful, whether it managing your money or protecting you money. I am here to help. Schedule your free consultation call today. Click HERE!