The United States Department of Justice has its hands full with identity theft fraud cases. The DOJ notes “the damage that criminals do in stealing another person’s identity and using it to commit fraud often takes far longer to undo than it took the criminal to commit the crimes.” To help the public avoid becoming identity theft victims in the first place, the DOJ has released its list of steps we all can take to make ourselves less susceptible to identity thieves’ scams.The DOJ’s Steps for Protecting your Identification
Step 1: Don’t give out your personal information to others unless you have a reason to trust them.
Step 2: Ask periodically for a copy of your credit report.
Step 3: Maintain careful records of your banking and financial accounts.
According to the DOJ, “Even if you take all of these steps, however, it’s still possible that you can become a victim of identity theft. Records containing your personal data — credit-card receipts or car-rental agreements, for example — may be found by or shared with someone who decides to use your data for fraudulent purposes.”
Of course, given the DOJ’s caveat, it makes sense to subscribe to an identity theft protection service. You’re probably familiar with some of the more popular ones that advertise on the radio, but what’s the best identity theft protection service? We reviewed all the top identity theft protection companies and came up with our list of the best four: Identity Guard, Trusted ID, and PrivacyGuard.
Click here for our complete identity theft protection reviews.
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