Prevent Identity Theft

It took two decades and a half but I just became a victim of identify theft. I just moved down to Portland, OR and I am standing in the Lloyd Center Mall trying to sign up at Quest for internet service. They were offering this extremely good discount for high speed internet and the whole application process was going surprisingly fast. We get to the end and the salesman proceeds to inform me he cannot sign me up.

Someone opened up a cell phone in my name a little over a year ago, with my name misspelled, and I had to call the credit department next Monday to get it cleared before I could get service.

This particular company did a very poor job of checking ID and making sure certain information was accurate. But this mistake has been weighing in on my credit for the past year and a half and I have no clue. I got to wondering what else could be on there that I did not know about.

Here is the lesson learned for this one. Get a credit report at least once a year. If I had done that I would have found out about this mistake and could have corrected it months ago.

I started to wonder how many other people have been victims of identify theft. Turns out a lot of people have been totally screwed! They have had to go through a complete nightmare to get their credit and affairs back in order. One woman had a Turkish man charging up $50,000 in bills in her name. And that is by far minimal compared to other first hand experiences.

I asked an identify theft lawyer some things a person can do to minimize getting their identity stolen. He explained that it is virtually impossible. You have thieves in Nigeria and Russia who have a doctor’s degree in this type of work. Identity theft is like a science and some guys have totally mastered the field. They are also experts in making their tracks virtually untraceable and therefore will be in business for a long time. Nevertheless, here are some things you can do to try to prevent or lesson the risks of it happening to you in the near future.

1. Only give out your credit car number if you absolutely have to. The same applies to your driver’s license number which many people can use interchangeably. If you have to demand that they shred the documents where you can see them if possible.

2. Do not give personal information over the phone or via email.

3. If you think or even suspect your computer has viruses or tracking cookies please do not purchase anything on it with a credit card. Certain viruses can read all your numbers you input and then have to available to thieves to use at their disposal.

4. Have identify theft insurance is not a bad idea though it comes at a price tag of $20-$30 per month.

5. Look at a credit report several times a year so you can catch fraudulent transactions quickly and report them.

Stay vigilant. New identity theft thieves are getting smarter everyday. The has perfected their craft over the last two decades. These guys are not your common criminals with tattoos. Many of them have degrees and are very smart but use their resources for evil. You must stay alert.

To find a lawyer that help help you with identity theft or a personal injury lawyer in Portland Or please visit the website for William Morgan and Associates and for more information on locating a good Portland car accident lawyer please click here.