How to Protect Yourself From Identity Theft

American Investment Planners LLC

500 North Broadway, Suite 260, Jericho, NY 11753

(516) 932-5130 / (866) 932-5130

Imagine how it would feel to find out that someone has stolen your personal information - credit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers, even passwords - and is using it for their own personal gain? Identity theft is a serious issue for a number of reasons, but one of the major reasons you need to protect yourself is because having your identity stolen can hurt you financially. For example, someone could rack up your credit card bills, leaving you financially responsible and potentially damaging your credit at the same time.

We're certainly not trying to scare you, but we do want to stress as much as possible how important it is to be careful with your information. That said, here are some ways that you can work on protecting yourself from identity theft:

Update your passwords regularly.
And while you're at it, make sure that you aren't using the same password for multiple websites and accounts. Someone trying to guess your password will start with the obvious such as your name, your birthday, your pet's name, or your parents' name, so stay away from using these. Safe passwords are those that are strong and hard to figure out - include a mix of numbers, letters (lowercase AND capital) and special characters.

Keep your information to yourself.
Never post personal information about yourself online for everyone to access - especially not on social media. At the same time, you should also never share passwords with anyone, even if you're confident that they won't tell. 

Don't open suspicious communications.
Sending emails is one way that hackers try to get your information, so if you notice something suspicious in your inbox, don't open it and delete it. If you do open an email that looks safe at first, but then the contents make you think twice, don't click on any links or respond with information if asked for it.

Make sure your documents are secure.
With technology so readily available, many people choose to store important information on their computers. However, this should only be done when using a secured network, and if this is something you do, you should also have the right firewall and anti-spyware software installed. 

Check your credit report.
If you are not receiving a copy of your credit report once a year, you need to start now. This is because requesting a copy of your report gives you the opportunity to look over it for any potential errors or marks that seem suspicious. If something does seem wrong, this is your chance to correct it and let institutions know that someone is using your information.

Last, but certainly not least, shred all confidential documents. If you plan to discard any paperwork that has your personal information on it (even information as basic as your name and birthday), it must be shredded to prevent anyone from accessing it - remember, identity thieves will look in trash cans for information.

To learn more about how you can protect yourself from identity theft, feel free to give us a call at (516) 932-5130 or send an email to info@americaninvestmentplanners.com. Our advisors would be happy to work with you on keeping your information secure!