Health & Fitness
Police: Identity Theft Always on the Rise,Twentysomethings Especially Vulnerable
Identity Theft is a growing epidemic in this country.
Identity theft is a growing epidemic in this country. According to a recent Fox News story, over 9 million people in the United States were victims of Identity Theft last year, which is an all-time high. From 2003-2012, reports of Identity Theft increased more than 71 percent. Georgia was ranked no. 2 in the nation. Not something to be too proud of.
Your information is out there, especially on the internet. Social networking is probably one of the biggest sources of personal information. The 21-29-year-old age group tends to be looser on-line with their information on these sites. Older age groups are much more cautious and don’t even use social networking sites.
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Your social security number is still the golden ticket to Identity Theft. Credit Card fraud is common and someone can charge thousands of dollars on your credit card. That is much easier to fix then someone who actually uses your social security number to open up accounts with your information; they can get loans, buy houses and buy cars, under YOUR name! This can take years to clear up and cost you thousands of dollars.
DO NOT GIVE OUT YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER unless it is 100 percent required by law or policy.
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What can you do to protect yourself from identity theft?
1) Get a credit freeze – Check out Clark Howards website at www.clarkhoward.com and look it up.
2) Limit what you carry. Don’t ever carry your social security card with you.
3) Lock up your financial documents in a safe place.
4) Shred receipts, credit applications, insurance forms, etc. when you don’t need them anymore.
5) O yeah, buy a shredder first.
6) Get a locking mailbox.
7) Never put outgoing mail in your mailbox; take it to the post office.
8) Make sure your computer is secured (anti-virus, firewall and only make purchases on secure, trusted websites).
9) Check out the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov.
Good Luck.
Officer Larry Jacobs is the Crime Prevention Officer for the Sandy Springs Police Department. He can be reached at ljacobs@sandyspringsga.gov.