How safe do you think your identity is? Those who have your social security number on file, do you think they can be trusted? How careful can we be when handing out our SSN? People often think I’m a little too cautious in the disputation of my social security number and other pieces of personal information. When given the choice to give out my social security number on applications and such, I always take the safe route—leave it blank.

Identity theft is and becoming an even bigger issue now than in the past. It is so easy to steal the personal information of another and use it to obtain credit cards, loans, and other sources that can destroy your credit in a matter of months. More and more cases, little or big, are being reported daily in regards to identity thievery. In my opinion you can never be too cautious in holding your personal information from others.

There are many ways in which one can obtain your personal information including mail boxes, junk mail and other personal information thrown in the dumpster, credit and debit card handling in stores or digitally, lack of the use of a paper shredder, and carelessness in giving out your social security number. These can all contribute to becoming a victim of identity theft, however, sometimes theft is just inevitable no matter how cautious you are. An even bigger problem that is beginning to occur is that of the dishonesty of individuals working within companies that require your personal information to obtain certain documents, services, products, and accounts…

Have you heard about the blood donors in Missouri, Illinois, and Kansas that had their personal records stolen this last April? In fact, over 1 million records were stolen from one of Red Cross’s very own employees. Now how safe do you think your personal records are in the hands of others? Although there have not been many identity theft cases reported yet from this incident, it does not mean that there won’t be. Those who do not keep a close watch on their personal finances are easy targets for identity theft and could possibly not discover they have been robbed until filing their taxes next year…ugh, I don’t even want to think about what I mess that will be!

In May of this year another theft of personal records was reported. Personal information files were stolen right out of the home of a VA employee. Included in the stolen data were names, birthdates, and social security numbers. It is unknown at this time if any veterans have become victims of any fraudulent activity, however, only time will tell.

Even if you are extremely cautious in giving out your personal information you can still become a victim of identity theft. Watch all statements you receive carefully and don’t hesitate to check your credit report at least 3 times a year.

Are you a victim in either of these cases, or perhaps another case that has not been mentioned in this blog? If so, give us your story.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006 at 4:56 pm and is filed under Credit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.