Some of them are very clever, but too often we give our information away. Truthfully, it is very easy to have your identification stolen. Just living in the United States makes us easy targets because many public records are available at the federal, state, city, and city levels including census data, property information, criminal records, bankruptcies, and tax liens. Private companies are able to pull information on you and sell it to the highest bidder. And it is all legal.
So what can you do?
- Don’t post personal info on social media that you don’t want the world to know about.
- Don’t post your trip till after you get back. Or if you want to post to your personal account, then make your account private, so only those close to you can see it.
- Don’t post a death. Obits are prime hunting grounds for scammers who learn the names of vulnerable widows and widowers, children, or grandchildren.
- Don’t post real-time updates on your whereabouts.
- Don’t mail in warranty cards.
- Don’t take surveys online that ask for personal information.
- Never click on a link sent to you in an email from a banking source or payment source. Always Google them organically.
- If you receive a call from someone suspicious you can typically Google the number to see if it is a recorded scamming source.
- Receive free scam alerts at www.ftc.gov/scams
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