5 Ways to Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft

According to identity theft expert Rob Douglas, approximately 15 million U.S. residents have their identities stolen each year, with losses totaling upwards of $50 billion. One billion records containing personally identifiable information were leaked in 2014. The identity theft problem continues to grow.

Thieves use many different methods to steal our identities— skimming credit and debit cards, phishing hacking into online accounts, stealing wallets or purses, and looking through trash. In our increasingly digital world, we are exposing ourselves to these types of attacks on our personal identity more and more.

Here are five things you can do to better protect yourself:

1. Use strong passwords. Make your passwords unique and stay away from things that are easy to figure out like birthdates or your mother’s maiden name. Also, don’t use the same password for every site. That way, if an identity thief gets one password, they won’t have access to everything.
2. Shred financial documents. Don’t just throw away bank and credit card statements or any documents that list your Social Security number. Shred these documents before putting them in the trash.
3. Be wary of giving information over the phone and internet. Before giving out your personal information be sure you are dealing with the right company and person.
4. Check your credit report. Review your credit reports annually to ensure no credit lines have been opened in your name that you did not authorize.
5. Keep copies of your credit and debit cards. Make photocopies of the front and back of all your cards and store them somewhere safe, so you will have all the necessary contact information if they are ever stolen.

Even if you take every precaution, identity theft can still happen. When you fall victim to identity theft, time and expertise are of the essence. Without professional assistance, identify theft victims often face weeks of frustration, uncertainty, and anger trying to resolve the crisis on their own. Acuity offers Identity Fraud Expense Coverage to reimburse you for the costs to restore your identity and also connects you with expert assistance from the nation’s leader in theft resolution and education.

Find out if you are effectively protecting your personally identifiable information with Acuity’s ID Rick Compass tool. If you want to better safeguard your identity contact your independent insurance agent today and ask about Identity Fraud Expense Coverage!