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March 30th, 2011 8:13 AM

I have been getting so many questions on identity theft, that I thought I would do a series on it over the next few weeks.

Identity theft is a huge problem, and anybody can be a victim! The problem is it usually takes a year before the victim becomes aware that his or her credit is now trashed. If you think it could never happen to you, think again.

I see it all the time because of the number of clients I work with. So for the next few weeks, I'm going to give you some great ways to keep this epidemic from happening to you.

Here's a quick, simple strategy to implement immediately to keep you from becoming the next horror story. When you are writing checks to pay your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete credit card account number in the "For" line of the check. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.

And while we are talking about your checks, the next time you order them from your bank, have just the initials for your first and middle name printed on the return address line. If someone takes your checkbook, they won't know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but you and your bank will know!

For that matter, if only your initials are on your pre-printed checks, the person who stole your checks might not even have your name.

I hope you found these tips helpful.

Phil

Posted by Phil Goldberg on March 30th, 2011 8:13 AMPost a Comment (0)