People across the globe are experiencing a relentless barrage of attacks impacting their personal privacy and security. If you have never received a notice in the mail stating that your personal information has been compromised, consider yourself one of the lucky few. Protecting against data breaches, identity theft, and even physical threats against you or your family should be a top priority for everyone. While no one can completely escape these threats, this web site puts forth steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of them happening to you. Sorted by category, the content below is routinely updated so check back often. It's a dangerous world out there, follow these steps and don't become the next victim!
The U.S. Postal Service offers a service called Informed Delivery that lets residents view scanned images of all incoming mail prior to delivery. Unsurprisingly, identity thieves have been abusing this service by creating accounts on behalf of real homeowners. The thieves can then use the access to see what mail is coming to the homeowner and intercept pieces that interest them, like credit cards or notices of new lines of credit. Every adult in a household should create an account before a cybercriminal does first.
The IRS web site contains lots of valuable personal information on American taxpayers. Identity thieves have been known to create accounts on behalf of others to generate tax refunds. That is why every adult should establish an online account before someone else does. The IRS recently started using a service called ID.me to manage taxpayer accounts. This service provides added security and reduces the chance of someone creating an account for you. To complete the process, you must agree to a live, virtual interview with an IRS agent.
Whether you are approaching retirement or just starting out in your career, you should sign up for an online account at the Social Security Administration before someone else does. Lots of personal information can be found on this site and you don't want a cybercriminal having access to it.