Protect Yourself! (part 2 of 3)
First and foremost you MUST take steps to protect your personal information. This includes:
Shredding any and all personal information to be thrown out. This includes preapproved credit card applications, any financial documents, credit card receipts, etc. My rule: when in doubt, shred it!
Guard your mail. Be aware of what you put into your mail box and what comes (or does not come) in your mailbox. You may want to have a locked mailbox or a mailbox away from your home. At minimum, be aware of what mail you are expecting. If you don’t receive your regular mail, don’t wait, investigate immediately.
Protect your information online. NEVER respond to emails asking you to verify any personal information. When in doubt, pick up the phone and verify the request.
NEVER give out any personal information over the phone, never give in to requests to verify personal information.
Only do business/use your credit card online with secure sites. Look for the VeriSign or security lock at the bottom of your browser page.
Opt out to decrease the amount of offers and solicitation you receive (with your name and information on them).
Be aware of ATM scams.
Check bank and credit card accounts for accuracy.
Keep a list of account and phone numbers: credit card companies, banks, etc. to cancel accounts should the need arise.
Know the content of your credit report and check it regularly. You are entitled to one free credit report per year. This does not count as a credit inquiry and hence does not count against you.
Use Your Common Sense!
Come back for part 3, to find out what to do if you have fallen victim to Identity Theft.
(c)JM Hofmann, MBA
Your Credit Under Attack! (part 1 of 3)
Identity Theft is a big problem today and it is growing.
Let’s take a closer look at what it really is and how it happens.
A thieve steals personal information (such as social security number, name, date of birth, personal identification number) and uses this information to (fraudulently) obtain loans, credit, access to money, goods and/or services in the victim’s name.
Days and often weeks later, the victim finds out that her/his identify was stolen when receiving a credit card statement from an institution they don’t know, or even worse when denied credit.
Who is affected by identity theft? Unfortunately, all of us are!No one is 100% safe from this crime.
Amongst the methods thieves use to steal your identity are:
- Stealing your purse, briefcase or wallet (and all the information is right there!)
- Going through garbage: looking for bank and credit card statements, documents containing your social security number, credit card offers with your name, cancelled checks, etc.
- Raiding your mailbox: stealing your mail (credit card and bank statements, checks, etc)
- Online scams such as phishing: emails from, for example financial institutions, asking you to verify your personal account information so that your account may remain open!
- Phone scams: callers posing as merchants, bankers, etc asking you to verify personal information or give your credit card number.
- And the list goes on!
Check back for Part 2, where we will examine what you can do to protect yourself.
(c)JM Hofmann, MBA
Welcome to Financially Free Women
Financial Freedom - we all (well, most of us) want it. For many women, however, it seems to remain illusive.
Is that because as women we:
- Have not been taught as much about money as men?
- Are still being paid less on the dollar than men?
- Often put our careers (and hence income) on the back burner to put the family first?
- Often defer financial issues to our "other half"?
- "Don't do that well with numbers"?
- Feel money is just not that important?
Financial issues and challenges are multi dimensional. Ironically, our financial health is affected by everything we do and in turn, it affects every single thing we do! A seemingly involved and complex topic; yet it doesn't have to be that way.
Come back and visit with us soon for futher discussions. In the meantime , I'd like to leave you with some food for thought.
Check your beliefs about money. Is the glass half full or half empty? Do you see abundance or only lack? Do your beliefs serve you or hold you back? If you find they hold you back, take the necessary steps to change them. Becoming aware of your beliefs is the first step to making corrections and adjustments in your belief system.
