To an Identity Thief You Are Your Credit Card

Of course you are more than just rectangular piece of plastic, but to an identity thief you could be just that. And that credit card is all he or she needs to become “you,” making charges that may add up to thousands of dollars without your knowledge – well until you get the bill anyway.

You may think that your credit cards are safe. After all, you shred all your statements and are very careful when using your card numbers and expiration dates online. However there are plenty of other ways for your information to leak out into the wrong hands. For example, Linda Price a 59-year old housecleaner in Cincinnati, stole a credit card from an infirm client and ended up charging over $3,000 before she was discovered according to wlwt.com.  Additionally, a thief may end up with your information by using a skimmer device at a payment terminal or ATM, by looking over your shoulder when you make a purchase at a store or through a data breach at your credit card company that is completely beyond your control. The Heartland Payment Systems data breach is rumored to have compromised close to 100 million debit and credit card numbers.

Since you can’t afford to be reactive in a situation such as credit card theft, especially with limits to liability plans, it’s a necessity to take a preventative stance. One way to do this is with an identity theft protection plans especially credit monitoring services, which gives you quick notification of any changes to your credit file that were not made by you. These changes can include reports of late or delinquent payments as well as alterations to your address or contact information. This is especially important since an identity thief may have your statements sent to a new location to hopefully throw you off the scent for longer since you won’t notice strange charges on your paper statements.

This brings me to another way to protect yourself from fraudulent credit card charges. Sign up for statements online. That way you can check your balance at any time of the month and will know if it shoots up unexpectedly. If you didn’t make a big purchase, and your husband or wife isn’t planning a big surprise, you will know pretty soon that something is afoot. This also keeps paper statements out of your mailbox and recycling bin: two more favorite places for identity thieves to find what they need to stay in business.

To sign up for electronic statements, contact your credit card company or visit its website. To find out more about credit protection services, you are already in the right place. Remember that these protection plans don’t just keep your plastic credit on the up and up, but can help with all aspects of your finances — and life in general – that can become victim to identity thieves. This includes usernames, passwords, addresses, bank accounts, your credit and that all important Social Security Number. Identity theft insurance can also help to keep everyone in your family’s information safe, depending on the options you choose. That peace of mind is worth more than any sliver of plastic could ever be.