Below are some ideas on safeguarding your information.

1. Secure Your Personal Records

• Protect your trash by tearing up or shredding sensitive materials like credit applications or credit offers, insurance forms, medical statements, charge receipts, checks and bank statements, and canceled or expired credit and ATM cards.

• If you have people working in your home, make sure your financial papers, credit cards, and other personal information are locked away.   Deposit your outgoing mail at the post office or in a post office collection box and collect your incoming mail promptly.  Pick up new checks at the bank rather than having them mailed.

• Don’t leave your credit, debit, or ATM card receipts behind, like in a bank or a store, and never throw them away in public.

2. Safeguard Your Personal Information Online

• Don’t put personal information, like your birth date, on a computer home page, personal computer profile, or social media website. 

• Never provide personal or financial information unless a website site is secure.  (Look for a security symbol such as an unbroken padlock and a URL that starts with “https” rather than simply “http.” Right-click the padlock to make sure it’s up to date.)

3. Limit What You Carry

• Carry only the personal identification, credit cards, and debit cards that you need. Keep your little-used identification and credit cards in a secure place.

4. Protect Your Social Security Number

• Keep your Social Security card in a secure location, and don’t give out your Social Security number only when absolutely required.  Don’t carry your Social Security card with you.

5. Use Passwords and Change Them Regularly

• When you use passwords for your various online accounts, use ones that are not easily guessed or found.  Avoid using obvious passwords like “123456789,” “qwerty,” your mother’s maiden name, the names of your children, spouse, or pets, or other personal data.

6. Find Out If Your Records Were Affected After a Data Breach

• If you learn that a company had a data breach that may have affected your records, find out what kind of information was taken.  If it was your credit card information only, monitor those accounts closely for fraudulent charges.

• If your Social Security number or other sensitive information was stolen, again, consider placing a credit freeze on your files with each of the three major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—to prevent a thief from opening up accounts in your name and ruining your credit.  (Though a credit freeze won’t stop a thief from making charges to existing accounts.)  Credit cards companies will usually issue you a new charge card with a different number.

7. Guard Against Tele-Theft

• Don’t give personal information over the phone unless necessary, and do not ever give it out unless you initiated the phone call.  If someone contacts you and says they are calling from someplace like your bank, credit card company, or the IRS, ask for a number to call them back—and then ensure it’s really an official number.

• Anytime you’re asked to provide personal information by telephone, through the mail, or over the Internet, be wary.  Even if you have initiated the contact, confirm that the other party is legitimate.  Call the organization’s customer service number and validate the exchange before you give any personal information.  Also, ask how the information will be shared with others and request that the information is kept confidential.

8. Protect Your Computer

Take the following steps to protect your identity if they are stored on your computer:

• Use a firewall and secure browser.

• Don’t download files from strangers.

• Maintain current virus protection.

• Password-protect any personal or financial information.

• Avoid automatic log-in processes (which store your account name and password).  It is better to write your passwords on a pad of paper and keep it in a safe place than to put it on your computer.

• When you dispose of your computer, delete personal information and completely overwrite the hard drive.  The best way to dispose of your information is to remove the hard drive and take a hammer to it!

• I’m still a fan of getting a notebook and writing down your passwords and keeping the notebook in a safe place.

9. Be Vigilant When Travelling

• When you travel, leave your checkbook, Social Security card, and other unnecessary items in a safe place at home.  If you take a laptop, smartphone, or other device on your trip, ensure it’s secure.  It should be password-protected and have the latest Internet security software installed. 

• Ask your hotel to recommend reputable Internet cafes or WiFi spots before you do any online connecting. 

• Also erase your online history after using a public computer.

10. Be Vigilant During Tax Time

• If you get a supposed IRS email asking for personal or financial information, delete it or send it to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov for investigation. Don’t be fooled by links to what looks like the real IRS website—that too could be a fraud. 

• The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages, or social media to ask for personal or financial information like PIN numbers, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks, or other financial accounts. When in doubt, contact the IRS.

If You’re a Victim of Identity Theft

• If you think your identity has already been stolen, see Stolen Identity?  Here’s What to Do and visit Identitytheft.gov.  Also, keep an eye on your credit report and respond to any inaccurate information.  It’s also a good idea to file your taxes early—as soon as you can—before a scammer does.

• If you need help straightening out your finances, dealing with debt collection agencies, or getting credit bureaus to remove fraudulent information from your credit report after an identity thief opens new accounts in your name, consider talking to an identity theft attorney, debt settlement attorney, or a consumer protection attorney. 

• An attorney can also advise you of all of the rights and the remedies available to you under federal and state law.

Continued on part 3 “Internet Protection & Common Scams – Part 3″