Home » Identity theft protection – how identity theft can ruin your life

Identity theft protection – how identity theft can ruin your life

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Keeping your private information safe should always be at the very top of your priority list, wherever you are online or in the physical world. Nowadays it is all too easy to give away too much information through social media and online accounts. Volunteering personal information away to faceless corporations is something that we do on a frequent basis; but when should we stop and think just what it means to leave yourself open and venerable to identity theft.

Identity theft protection isn’t something that we place first on our google searches, yet it is absolutely the most vital and important step to entering the virtual word, safely and without regret.

Identity theft protection can take on many forms

Living in such a money driven world, we can expect that criminal activity is lurking just around the virtual corner. But why would they target me? Who am I? Just a regular person, living an unspectacular life, why would I be worried about identity theft protection? The answer to that question lies in the fact that cyber criminals rely on the regular, average person’s self-doubt and use it against them. So you think I am not watching? I am. You believe that your information isn’t being collected, bit by bit, it is. With every move you make online, a data trial accumulates and if your PC or laptop is hacked for instance, you are in danger of losing a whole lot more than the monetary contents of your credit card.

How can you protect against these threats?

Identity theft protection can start with you, by limiting the amount of information that you make public or share within social media. If you don’t have to use your full name, don’t! If they don’t ask for further details, don’t voluntarily share them. If they ask for too much information, question whether it’s worth giving your personal information away, or will it be safer to not go with this service. The first step starts when you stop and think before submitting information that will be forever online.

Secondly, you must always use (and I can’t stress this enough!) a security software or application. There is no reason why you shouldn’t install such a precaution, especially since they are A. Often free of cost, and B. the most important way to defend yourself while online.

In the physical word, you hold the same responsibility to yourself and your privacy. For example: Be careful of people on the street who are petitioning for some cause or trying to get your information to provide you a special deal on some new service. They could be fraudulent and just out to obtain your personal details.

How identity theft can ruin your life

Imagine a doppelganger out there, with your image, your details, and enough personal information and insight into your life, to be able to become you without anyone questioning them? They can cause irreparable damage to your reputation, to your work or credit history, and even get you in some serious trouble with the law. Identity theft is more than just someone trying to steal your account details, it is someone trying to steal your life, wipe your identity clean and replace it with an “evil twin” of yourself that could leave you in big trouble.

By writing this article, I want to leave you with a clear picture, of just a few ways that identity theft can ruin your line. Protection against identity theft should always be and always remain a top priority in your life. Just remember that old WWII poster: Lose lips, sink ships. Nothing has changed.

 

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