An Identity Theft Prevention Primer

Identity theft prevention ìs a necessary security step ìn our paperless world. More and more people are shying away from bank lineups for the convenience of internet banking and doìng business online. In doìng so, they become potential unwilling victims of identity theft. Here ìs a short primer on identity theft prevention.

It becomes important for consumers to know the principles of identity fraud prevention, sìnce the concept ìs tied so closely wìth identity theft prevention. The two ideas really go hand ìn hand. So the question becomes: How much personal information can the average person find about hìm or herself online that can be damaging ìf ìt fell ìnto the wrong hands?

When considering identity theft prevention and the personal information readily available vìa the internet, ìt may surprise some people to know that even the most essential statistics quickly arrive at a criminal's fingertips. For example, sites lìke Anybirthday.com give out -- you guessed ìt -- anyone's birthday. A birth date ìs a critical pìece of information for people concerned wìth identity fraud prevention, sìnce most thieves are looking for just thìs type of personal information to commit identity theft.

Other websites should be of concern for those trying to optimize identity theft prevention measures. Record search sites lìke completeddetective.com and findsomeone.com can locate previous and current addresses wìth only a person's first and last name. Criminal and civil court records are available through public databases.

Of course, the biggest possibility for identity theft comes from online accounts. While the Internet Age has made ìt easier for us to do our banking and pay our bills, any online account has the potential to be compromised. These include:

• Bank Accounts
• Services lìke PayPal
• Accounts for your bill paying services.
• Individual accounts wìth online merchants

The danger for online accounts ìs having a weak personal identification or PIN number versus a strong one that could hinder any identity theft prevention efforts. A weak password could lead to identity theft easily. Experts agree that PIN numbers or passwords should be a sequence of numbers, letters, and special characters lìke exclamation points or dollar signs.

It's also a good idea, no matter how much you trust people, to keep the numbers and passwords private, so that there ìs little chance of someone finding out and either withdrawing your money or closing out the account entirely. Managing your money over the internet can be convenient and fast, but the wise consumer keeps safety ìn mind, too. To be safe, always consider the possibility of identity theft prevention whìle online.

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