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| Protect yourself and your identity |
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| Oren Liebermann |
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8/13/2007 - The cars that drove down Battlefield Blvd. never stopped to stare at what surrounded them.
Lying all over the streets and sidewalks were discarded documents, some torn up, most intact, littering the streets, complete with sensitive, personal information. Cathy Parks, Consumer Affairs Director for the Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney's office, flipped through the documents noting, "This has a loan number, a name, an address."
Parks says many of the pages they found contain information that should never have been thrown out, let alone tossed along the highway.
"This mortgage statement has account numbers," she says.
The mortgage statement belongs to Yusif Kariem and his wife. Nearly a year after it was sent out, Kariem says she can't believe it was found on the street.
Experts say it's not good enough to throw everything in the trash. They say identity thieves don't need much to dig for. They say it's best to shred anything with sensitive information on it, even something like a kid's homework that has a student's name on it.
Darrell Brown destroys any paper with his name on it. He bought his shredder about two months ago.
"Hearing about stuff on the news, about people finding stuff in the garbage can," he says, is when he decided it was time to invest in a shredder.
Experts warn it's not just personal documents that contain sensitive information. Even junk mail and unsolicited credit card offers contain enough sensitive information for an identity thief.
They also tell us thieves don't need to target your trash. They say shredding sensitive information is a help, but there's more you can do to protect yourself. They say you should never send checks from your own mailbox, cautioning that it's best to drop them off at the post office.
And if you can, experts say it's a good idea to use a post office box instead of a mailbox for most incoming mail.
Here are some more tips you can use to protect your identity:
Cancel all credit cards that you do not use or have not used in six months.
Do not put your telephone number on your checks.
Get credit and business cards with your picture on them.
Order your credit report at least twice a year and call about fraudulent activity.
Register with the National Do Not Call Registry or call 1-888-382-1222.
Opt out of unsolicited credit card offers here or call 1-888-567-8688.
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