Spring Cleaning Tips to help protect your identity

Spring Cleaning Tips to help protect your identity -

Spring is finally upon us, which means it's time for spring cleaning. While this phrase might make you think to clear gutters or finally tackle these boxes stacked in the garage, you can also use spring cleaning for other areas of your life outside of the congestion in the order . Identity theft is a growing danger to the United States, so it is important to take as many steps as you can do yourself to less risk. Believe it or not, there are a number of things you can incorporate into your annual ritual of spring cleaning to reduce your risk of identity theft.

cleanlist spring Identity theft

1. Shred old documents or files or mail. We all have a bad habit of leaving documents and accumulate mail. Unfortunately, documents containing your personal information may be prime targets for identity thieves to gather what they need to commit fraud in your name. If you have lots of papers piled up, unsorted, it is time to address these cells and determine if you need any of it or not. Keep what you need and drop it off in a locked cabinet or consider scanning documents to create a virtual copy that is protected by password. Shred - Do not throw away - you will not miss. It is important to find a shredder that cross cuts to ensure that documents are completely destroyed and unable to be restored back together.

2. Go paperless. One way you can reduce the amount of paper that must be addressed is to go paperless whenever you can. Many banks, credit cards, utilities and other services now allow you to opt for paperless billing. This means, instead of receiving a statement in the mail, you will receive by email. This will help reduce the clutter and also reduce the likelihood of someone getting your personal information documents lying around your house or in your trash.

3. Change your passwords. Ideally, you should change your passwords regularly. But if you have not done in a while, now is the time to do it. It is recommended to change your passwords at least every six months, although some accounts such as your bank online, it is better to change every three months. Click here for more information on choosing a strong password. You must also enable two-factor authentication (also known under the name verification in two stages) on all Web sites you use that offer it. This process requires two types of security identification when you log in to your account, rather than your password, which increases safety. You can find out which websites and applications you use the two-factor authentication offers www.twofactorauth.org.

4. Ask your free credit reports. You are entitled to a free copy of your credit reports from the three major offices - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - once a year. If you have not already claimed your copy, you should do it now. Review your credit reports is one of the best ways to spot potential fraud and keep track of what your credit looks like. If you already have your credit reports this year, but want to stay up to date on them and be alerted to any changes, you can sign up for a credit report monitoring service.

5. Consider signing for identity theft protection. These services offer a variety of features to help protect your identity throughout the year. Some of these features include daily monitoring of Internet black market and public folders to ensure that your personal information is not misused, traded or sold, and three offices monitoring credit report. Looking to protect your entire family? Some services offer great plans to cover all of your household. The best part is, most of the protection services against identity theft are budget-friendly, with the establishment plans cost $ 20 / month or less.

Although these suggestions are perfect for spring cleaning, it is important to remember that you can keep them all year. For more advice and information on protecting your identity, visit our Identity Theft Protection blog.