Has anyone here been victim of identity theft?

I’ve never been a victim of identity theft per se, but I’d suggest you make sure you don’t lose your wallet, shop only with merchants you trust, and tear up or shred any credit card, loan, or similar offers you get in the mail.

Also, monitor your credit report, I signed up for a service through my bank for a year, it cost me about 100 or so, but the peace of mind was well worth it. I know if any company has requested my credit report, etc, and all sorts of other stats.

Most of the time identity theft happens from retail & local establishments, as I understand it, which is ironic, given the one time somebody fraudelently charged my debit card, it happened to dozens of people at the bank I was at, and the teller had the nerve to tell me it was probably “internet related”. I still don’t know how they got my debit card number to use, but from the fact that it happened to 20+ people at the bank I used, I have a strong suspicion it was related to the people at that bank, and perhaps a new employee or something.

I’ve never been a victim of identity theft per se, but I’d suggest you make sure you don’t lose your wallet, shop only with merchants you trust, and tear up or shred any credit card, loan, or similar offers you get in the mail.

Also, monitor your credit report, I signed up for a service through my bank for a year, it cost me about 100 or so, but the peace of mind was well worth it. I know if any company has requested my credit report, etc, and all sorts of other stats.

Most of the time identity theft happens from retail & local establishments, as I understand it, which is ironic, given the one time somebody fraudelently charged my debit card, it happened to dozens of people at the bank I was at, and the teller had the nerve to tell me it was probably “internet related”. I still don’t know how they got my debit card number to use, but from the fact that it happened to 20+ people at the bank I used, I have a strong suspicion it was related to the people at that bank, and perhaps a new employee or something.

There are many things you can do to try to protect your identity. Be vigilant about checking your credit card statements as well as your utility statements. Don’t leave your mail in your mail box overnight. Take your mail to the post office or drop it in a US mail box. Shred everything that has any personal information on it with a cross cut shredder. Don’t ever give anyone your social security number unless it is absolutely necessary. If you are asked for it question why it is needed.

I’ve never been a victim, but nothing you do can keep your identity from being stolen. Enroll in Pre-Paid Legal Services and add the Identity Theft Shield membership for the total protection package. You’ll sleep much better. See our website at www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/wmfinancial. Email me with any questions you have.

There are tons of things that we can do to try and protect ourselves from being victimized. Some of these things are, conducting a credit check regularly, immediately retrieving your mail, shredding or burning documents before throwing them in the trash, not using your cards in small establishments, keeping your information to yourself, signing up for credit monitoring services and by simply protecting your wallet especially if it houses all of your important cards. I have never been a victim of identity theft, but I’ve learned from other people that despite being too careful and overprotective, if a thief persists on using your identity, he still can. These steps will minimize the risk and will also help in immediately attending to the situation to prevent damaging your name and credit any further. To make sure that you are protecting your identity thoroughly, follow the steps listed on