Personal Finance Lesson Plans

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing problems in the US. According to the Identity Theft Research Center, there were 15 million identity theft victims in 2006 which is about a new victim every 2 seconds! In 2004 victims of identity theft spent an average of 330 hours often spanning over years to recover from this crime.

Even after the identity theft criminal stops using the victim’s identity, the victim generally has to deal with increased credit card and mortgage interest rates, increased insurance rates and fighting with creditors and collection agencies who refuse to update records despite having evidence of the crime. We should all take precautionary action to prevent thieves from racking up debt in our names and trashing our credit. Here are a few tips on how to protect yourself against identity theft and avoid such hassles:

1. Identification: Do not keep your social security card in your wallet or any place where it can be easily stolen. Keep record of the number in case it gets lost or stolen. That way you always have access to the number.

2. Checks: Do not have your social or your driver’s license number printed on your checks or write your entire credit card account number anywhere on the check. If your credit card company needs to know which account you are paying, you can put the last four digits and the company will know the rest. You want to keep these numbers out of view and steer potential thieves away from what is yours. Instead of your home address and phone number, it is better to use a P.O. Box or work address and work phone number. Another good trick is to change the way your name appears on your checks so thieves do not know how you sign. For example if you sign your full name, put your initials on your checks instead to cause doubt on whether you sign checks with your initials or your name.

3. Financial Information: Never give your financial information over the phone or through the mail. Banks and other financial organizations do not ask for your information this way. In fact, if you live in California, consumers’ personal financial information is protected under various financial privacy laws. Financial organizations are required to ask permission before releasing any information to other companies or even affiliates of their own company. Also you should keep a record of your credit card and customer service numbers so you know who to call and what account to stop if someone steals your card. Then make efforts toward an investigation by filing a police report in the city where your cards were stolen. This way credit card companies see that you are being responsible with your identity and not shrugging off the loss.

4. Protect Your Computer: Do not click on links from emails or spam pop-ups. Many of these links could be “phish” links (a scam offer that is used to direct a person to a website that will steal personal and financial information). Also you should have a good firewall or spyware protecting your computer. Online download these programs from sites you trust and do some research on what programs you want to download and how they can help you. Make sure your passwords have variation – symbols, capital letters and/or numbers – so that it is difficult for others to guess.

5. Check Statements and Credit: Keep on top of your bank statements. Call if they do not come on time in case someone has changed your contact information on your accounts. Look for unauthorized withdrawals and/or charges. If you see any, report them immediately. Also check your credit reports once a year. Each of the three credit bureaus allows one free credit report a year – get each of them. This way you know your credit history, score and whether or not anyone has been tampering with your financial information.

To learn more about how Real Estate Investments can help secure your family’s financial future, go to Dr. Alan Rosenthal’s website at http://www.FinancialHealthRealEstate.com where you can find more great investment information. And while you’re there, please sign up for your FREE Financial Health Real Estate Starter Package full of tips, newsletters and much more. Plus, you are cordially invited to attend one of his real estate investment workshops by visiting http://www.FinancialHealthRealEstate.com/UpComingEvents.html For additional information listen to one of Dr. Alan Rosenthal’s investment talks at http://www.FinancialHealthRealEstate.com/InvestmentTalks.html

Tags: credit protection, credit repair, financial solution, identity theft

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