All throughout the United States, millions of lives are impacted by identity theft and various other information frauds over the course of a single year. As a matter of fact, there are well over 16 million identity fraud victims alone in this span of time – at least according to data that was gathered to represent the year of 2017. In the time that has passed since, however, identity theft has remained a pressing issues for this country and in the lives of many.
But just because identity theft is common does not mean that you have to fall victim to it. Fortunately, there are a number of ways in which you can fight back against identity theft, as well as prevent it from happening in the first place. For one thing, however, keeping a close eye on any credit cards and bank accounts you have open is an absolute must. Sadly, very nearly one quarter of all people don’t even discover that they have become a victim of identity theft until late in the game – and then only totally by accident. But if you’re watching all of your spending closely, you’ll be able to notice if something is amiss – and therefore, you’ll be able to address it far more promptly. In today’s world, making this happen has become far easier than ever before, thanks to the implementation of things like mobile banking apps and the like, which allow you to check your bank account just about wherever it is that you might be.
Stopping identity theft before it starts in the first place is also a matter of considerable priority. And there are a number of ways to to do this. For one thing, practicing safe online habits is a must, especially now that well over three and a half billion people have internet access on a global scale. Cyber crime is very real, but even taking small steps like avoiding sites that don’t seem particularly secure and being very picky with where you put your information can really help to reduce your chances of ever falling victim to such crimes. Fortunately, very nearly half of all people already practice such online habits. If more people took the time to do so, it’s likely that we could and would see a considerable drop in overall rates of online crime.
But it’s not just the internet and internet usage that leads to identity theft. As a matter of fact, the majority of identity theft still occurs through the use of paper documents. Therefore, the disposal of these documents in a proper and safe way is an absolute must. Ideally, something like a secure paper shredder will be utilized. Though you don’t need an industrial shredder machine or high capacity paper shredder to partake in secure paper shredding, secure paper shredding is very important indeed. Secure paper shredders, even small ones, that allow you to conduct secure paper shredding whenever necessary can greatly reduce the risk of identity theft.
Unfortunately, not nearly as many people conduct secure paper shredding as they should. In fact, very nearly one third of all surveyed adults say that they don’t utilize secure paper shredding on a regular basis. However, making the switch to participating in secure paper shredding is something that is more affordable than many realize. As buying a secure paper shredder to do this secure paper shredding is unlikely to break the bank. And having a machine to utilize and conduct secure paper shredding through is certainly something that is more than likely to pay off at the end of the day, as secure paper shredding to prevent identity fraud and information frauds of other kinds will save you money and emotional distress, both of which are likely to be lost and to occur in the event of a crime of the above nature.
The concept of identity theft is certainly a frightening one. There is just no denying this fact. Fortunately, however, steps can be taken to reduce the overall impact of identity theft, as well as to prevent it from ever occurring in the first place.