Every day people are falling victim to identity theft.

Their confidential information is stolen, and used for less than savoury purposes.
Don’t be vulnerable to this insipid crime, always be vigilant, and protect your identity.

What is identity theft?

Identity theft occurs when a person steals  someone else’s personal information, and consequently impersonates them, for financial gain.
It’s the theft of bank statements, wallets, credit cards, rates notices, other personal information or statements which contain private data.
Now, with the advent of internet activity and social media, it is just as prevalent for online as offline, so it’s not just paper which has to be destroyed, it is also computers and hard drives, mobile phones and tablets.

Here are some tips for you to implement immediately to reduce the risk of identity theft:

1. Be secure with your passwords.  Avoid using the same password for your bank accounts, phone security etc.  Just think, if someone gained your password and you had it throughout your important accounts, they would then have access across the board.  Identity theft is invasive and devastating, so make sure you put effort into keeping passwords unique and known only to you.

2. Make sure your online shopping is via secure websites. If a website offering products doesn’t have their company information, contact details and phone number clearly displayed, tread carefully.  Also check in the address bar for the url – a secure site will display the prefix ‘https’ before the web address, otherwise your details may be compromised.

3. Stay up to date.  Keep your browsers and anti virus software current.  Hackers and the like are always developing new ways to break into programs, and software companies respond by updating the packages to combat these. It’s a simple way to stay safe.

4. Think.  If a website looks dodgy, if a product looks just too cheap, if you can’t find out where the business is based, stay away.  Use your instincts.

So, stay safe, protect what is yours, and if you no longer need paperwork or old un-used computers around the office, destroy them securely.

If you would like to discuss the best way to do this, contact us here at ShredEasy.