Protect Yourself From Identity Theft

I used to be like most people. I didn’t think it could happen to me, and didn’t see just how important it is to find the best ways to protect yourself from identity theft. Then came the wake up call – my identity was stolen! Once the smoke settled, I asked myself, “Now, how can I protect myself from identity theft in the future?” I drew a blank.

Identity theft has been a problem for a very long time, but it wasn’t until the Internet’s popularity that it became the number one crime in America that it really sunk into the public awareness. Unfortunately, it’s a young technology, and the hackers and thieves always manage to stay one step ahead of law enforcement. That means it’s up to you to protect yourself from identity theft. But how? I had no idea, so I began researching.

The first thing I did was to lock down my computer. Using standard settings, most people are vulnerable, and for the clever hacker it’s no problem to retrieve your personal information and use it for his or her gain. My own information was stolen from an unsecured computer, so I know it can happen to anyone.

After a great deal of research, I decided to go with the antivirus and personal firewall program that has won the most awards for effectiveness, reliability, and speed. I’ve been frustrated by other programs that were intrusive and annoying – this one runs quietly in the background, and I don’t even know it’s running. It’s called Eset Smart Security. Please don’t skip over this part – it is the single most important step you can take to protect yourself from online identity theft.

Once my computer was secure, I moved on to the next step – a solid identity theft protection service. This, along with computer security, is crucial to protect yourself from identity theft. Let’s say that someone steals your identity in some other way, such as an insecure computer at your children’s school containing all your personal details – which is how my identity was stolen. Well, now your best bet is to catch the criminal before any real damage is done. For this, you need a service to monitor your information and credit.

My choice was a company called TrustedID. They go far beyond what I could find with any other service on the market. Their newest feature is to provide an identity threat score, which is a simple to understand assessment of your risk of identity theft. They maintain an identity theft blog, which keeps you up-to-date on the latest scams, as well as the latest techniques to protect yourself from identity theft. They offer IDFreeze protection, to prevent identity theft before it ever happens. And they even offer a $1M service warranty in the event that their system fails and identity theft does occur – so you simply can’t lose.