Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger
The national Foundation for credit counselors, which sponsors Protect your identity week, has compiled a number of identity theft myths. To support their efforts, awareness Santa Fe seller Council and Education Group Subcommittee has helped to clarify some common misinformation regarding this crime more and more common. We have already discussed some of these myths, and will continue to do so throughout this week.
Myth # 5 :. Checking your credit report periodically or using a credit monitoring service is all you need to do to protect yourself against identity theft
There are many useful and effective credit monitoring services available. However, no monitoring service is 100% effective, and many do little to protect your identity. If you want to be careful about identity theft, you should check your credit report regularly, but you must also keep accurate financial records, check your bank statements and credit card frequently for unauthorized charges and follow the FTC advice to minimize the risk.
You can get a free credit report per year from each of the three credit bureaus AnnualCreditReport.com. Many consumer groups suggest that you shift your free reports throughout the year, instead of ordering all three at once.
The FTC offers made to consumers regarding the identity theft protection services which take additional measures beyond the level of protection offered by credit monitoring services.
The FDIC offers tips for Internet banking safely.
Myth # 6: My personal contact information (mailing address, telephone number, email address, etc.) are not useful to an identity thief.
Any information that could be used by a thief to impersonate you should be protected. For example, many people use their email address as a user ID for online accounts. Consider making your information available based on need to know only. Companies often ask for personal information they really do not need, and simply omit information that you are not willing to give.
The US Department of Justice answers the question: "What should I do to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft"
Myth # 7: shredding my mail and other personal documents to keep me safe.
shredding documents that contain personal information before throwing them away is a great way to protect yourself against "dumpster . diving ", which occurs when the search thieves trash for personal information but only rely on your shredder for protection is like locking a window while leaving the rest of your house wide open Consider the defense.: . secure your personal information in your home, your car, and at work, and always use safety online security practices
Get safe online gives advice on social networks safely.
The FTC answers the question, "How do thieves steal an identity?"
Robert Siciliano, identity theft speaker, discusses data theft on Fox News.
Robert Siciliano is CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, an expert on identity theft, professional speaker, security analyst, published corresponding author and television news. Siciliano works with Fortune 1000 companies and start-ups as a consultant on product launches, branding, messaging, representation, SEO and media. the thoughts and advice of Siciliano on all these issues often appear both media television and print news, including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX, Forbes and USA Today. He has 25 years of safety training as a member of the American Society for industrial security. He is the author of two books including The Safety Minute: Living on high alert; How to take control of your personal safety and to prevent fraud . He also established a partnership with Uni-Ball to help raise awareness of the growing threat of identity theft and provide tips on how you can protect yourself.