The Vine News

The holiday season is near, and most people will be doing more shopping than normal. This is one of the biggest opportunities of the year for thieves to steal your identity, credit card or bank pin numbers, and other vital information and leave you holding the bag.

Its always best to be careful with your information and never share it, but here are a few other tips that could keep you from being a victim this year.

Shred your financial documents. Any paperwork with personal information should be put through a shredder before being thrown away.

Never click on links in unsolicited emails. Since "phishing" is becoming a common problem, use up-to-date firewalls, anti-spyware, and anti-virus software to protect your home computer. Good anti-spam software is a must. Plus, never click on links in e-mails. Instead, open a new window and go to the website address you know in order to enter information. (Fake PayPal e-mails are becoming more common, so be extra wary when dealing with these.) You might also want to avoid e-mail archiving in the event that someone hacks into your account.

Avoid obvious passwords. These include your birth date, mother’s maiden name, or the last four digits of your Social Security number. Besides being obvious, that information in the wrong hands can spread damage further than you may like to think.

Don’t give out personal information either. Whether over the phone, through the mail, or over the Internet, don’t share your information unless you know who you are dealing with.

Protect your Social Security Number. Never carry your social security number in your wallet or write your social security number on a check.

Keep your personal information in a secure place. This is especially important with roommates, outside help, or if you are having work done in your home.

And last, be alert to bills that do not arrive when they should. If they do not arrive, they may have been routed somewhere else, and that could be a big problem.

You can find more tips on protecting your identity on my website as well as how you can rest easy getting the same protection as the big companies do by using Identity Theft Shield backed by Kroll , the Number One risk Management company in the world.

Visit www.ted4justice.com, or call me at 1-888-270-1932