How Identity Theft Happens In London Ontario

How Identity Theft Happens In London Ontario

Posted on March 1, 2021

Identity theft can have a devastating impact on our lives. Not only can it affect your credit score, it can also involve you in debt you didn’t sign up for and credit cards you never even got to see.

While there are systems in place to help recover from this situation, it would be far better to avoid it in the first place. Nobody is completely immune to the risks but knowing how identity theft happens can help you take steps to avoid those risks as much as possible.

Our London car loan team has some practical advice on avoiding identity theft.

How can thieves steal your identity?

There are several methods identity theft can happen. You will be able to mitigate against some but not all of these.

Phishing

Fake emails purporting to be from your bank, credit card company or other financial institution. These emails will usually look very convincing and feel legit. They will often warn you of unauthorized access or a debt to prompt you into acting without thinking.

If you receive a phishing email, delete it. If you’re worried, call the bank or company on their main customer service number.

Dig through your trash

While far from glamorous, digging through your trash can be a fruitful exercise unless you shred or burn letters and documents. If you throw away old bank statements, credit card statements, those credit card forms offering cheap borrowing, you are risking identity theft.

They can be used with other forms of ID to access lines of credit. The best thing to do here is shred documents or burn them if you have a wood burner or open fire.

Physical theft

Physical theft such as stealing a wallet, home invasion or ATM skimming can all contribute towards identity theft. Not many thieves go for the physical angle but some do.

Keeping an eye on the ATM before you use it, watching who is behind you when using it, keeping your purse or wallet safe and practical home protection steps can all help protect you from physical theft.

Hacking your devices

Hacking your devices is not a common occurrence whatever TV tries to make you believe. When it does happen, a hack can steal your bank details, logins, passwords, email addresses and perhaps leave something behind to keep on sending this stuff to the hacker.

While uncommon, using a good firewall on your devices, using antivirus regularly and watching where you go online can reduce the risk significantly.

Of all these methods, phishing and ATM skimming are probably the most common. Trash sifting and other physical theft are unusual but not unknown in Canada.

Don’t be afraid of these things, just be aware of them and take practical steps to avoid them. Your credit score will thank you for it!

Contact Unique Chrysler for help, advice and competitive car finance.

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