There are still many people that take papers with their personal information and just toss them into the trash.  By doing this, they just want to have their personal identity stolen.  Identity theft is just on the rise, and dumpster diving is one of the old fashion ways to steal a person’s personal information.

A paper shredder is not that expensive and is a worthwhile investment for any home or business.  Here is a list of papers that should be shredded and not just thrown in the trash.

• Old Tax Returns–you should save your tax returns for at least three years but after that time, it is safe to destroy them.  When you keep them, they should be kept in a firebox.  What an identity theft is looking for is not just your name and address but your Social Security numbers.  This includes your dependent’s numbers also.
• Bank Statements–any papers with your bank account numbers should be shredded.  If you do not need to receive bank statements, opt for online bank statements via email.
• Credit Card Offers–if you are not going to take the bank or credit card company up on their offer, shred them right away.  People do not like to think about it but identity theft does happen within family members.  Some family member could fill these out and open an account in your name.
• Old Photo ID’s–this includes any old security badges from previous workplaces or school ID’s.  A photo ID is not enough to steal your information by itself but it does contain personal information.  It could be used as part of a bigger identity theft scheme in order to bypass some fraud prevention measures.
• Pay Stubs–many people may not realize it but that pay stub is loaded with personal information that could be used by a skilled identity theft.  It has your name and many times your Social Security number. If you use direct deposit, it will also have the name of your bank and maybe part of your account number.
• Credit Card Convenience Checks–some credit card companies will send their cardholders these types of checks.  They can be used to borrow against the line of credit that you have for quick cash.  If you do not plan to use them, shred them immediately.
• Canceled Checks–even if you write void on a canceled check still has personal information on there.  There are your routing and account numbers on the bottom of the check.  Some people make sure that their checks have their name, address, and phone number on it.  Some will even have their phone number and Social Security number printed on the check.  In the info line, you may have even put an account number there and whom the number belongs too.
• Canceled Credit Cards–this includes any cards that you no longer plan on using.  Even the one that may have had the number stolen should be destroyed.  If you cannot put it through your shredder, cut through the magnetic strip, cut into four pieces, and put the pieces in different trash bags so they cannot be pieced back together and this is always a good credit protection practice.

In conclusion, if anything you are about to toss in the trash has any personal information on it, and then it should be shredded.  You do not want to become a victim of identity theft.

Becoming a victim of identity theft and having your personal information stolen is not something that can be fixed overnight.  It can takes months, maybe even years to get everything straightened out and for you to get your identity back.  One way that you can prevent this from happening is to consider freezing your credit report.  As everyone knows your credit report contains information about the way you pay your bills which lenders and creditors us to make any decision about to give you credit or not.

If you decide to freeze your credit repot these creditors and lenders cannot check your credit score or report unless you give the credit bureau a password.  Since most places will require a credit check before they will give a person a loan an application for credit will most likely denied if they do not have the correct password to check your credit score.  You can freeze your credit report with all 3 major credit bureaus.

If you already have credit with a company they can access your credit score and report without the password.  In addition, there are certain government entities and law enforcement agencies that can access your credit score and report.  Your credit score is not affected by the credit freeze.

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Identity theft once had the simple name of debit or credit card fraud which involved using a stolen number to make fraudulent purchases.  Now that simple crime has evolved into getting the social security number of the victim and opening brand new accounts.  Most of the time the victim is totally unaware of these new accounts because the identity theft is having the bills sent to a different address so the spending goes on unnoticed until a collection agency contacts the victim for nonpayment.

Even if you check your statements every month you will not get any tips as to this happening but if you check your credit report you will see it.   This can be time consuming and expensive because most of the time it will cost you to get a copy of your credit report.  You can get free copies once a year but if you wait that long a lot of damage can already be done to your credit.

To help with this problem credit bureaus are offering an option that is called a credit or security freeze.  This credit or security freeze is just a hold that is put on your credit file at each of the credit reporting agencies which are three.  When this hold is placed on your credit file it helps to prevent potential creditors and credit card issuers from being able to see your credit history.  If they cannot see your credit history they will not issue any credit which means the identity theft will not be issued any credit in your name.
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Having your identity stolen can be a very frightening experience not to mention one that can takes months to years to straighten out.  If you have been a victim of identity theft there are certain rights that you do have as a victim.  When you know that you have become a victim of identity theft you have the right to file a report with the law enforcement agency and ask for a copy of it to use as proof your identity has been stolen.

You also have a right to get an identity theft report that is like a police report but does into more detail.  It should contain enough information that the businesses and credit reporting companies can verify that you are a victim.  It will also let them know just what information or accounts have been affected.

When you start to deal with the various credit reporting companies you have the right to put a ninety day initial fraud alert on your credit files.  You should do this if you think you are a victim or may become a victim of identity theft.  This alert just tells the users of your credit report that they must take steps to verify who is trying to get credit in your name.  To do this, all you have to do is contact just one of the credit reporting bureaus and they will contact the other two bureaus.

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Take action immediately once you realize you have become a id theft victim.  This is means that there are going to be hundreds of phone calls, countless hours, and lots of writing to keep meticulous records of all the conversations you have.  In addition, you need to realize that you are going to find yourself repeating some of the same information over and over.  You are also going to spending several hundreds of dollars on mailing out certified letters and documents not including the wages you may loose if you have to go to court.  You may also have to deal with collection agencies for bills you did not create.  You are going to have to check your credit reports to see what damage has been done, and you will need to make sure that your medical records have not been compromised.  There is so much that you will have to do to get your identity back.

You need to make sure your bank and credit card company have been contacted.  You should also contact at least one of the credit reporting agencies to report the fraud.  By law, they are required to notify the other two agencies.  They will also send you a free credit report.  Make sure that they put a fraud alert on your report.  You may also want to ask them if they can freeze any applications for credit until you tell them to remove it. In addition, make sure that you change your passwords and PIN number on all your accounts.
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