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Just in the year 2014, over 17,000,000 people were victims of identity theft. That is around 7% of Americans 16 years of age and older!

That is such a high number. And, sadly, without the correct precautions, that number may not decrease anytime soon.

Identity theft is becoming such a common occurrence in recent years and it is something far too many people have personal experience with.

No one wants to deal with identity theft. Identity theft could potentially lead to headaches, a drop in your credit score, loss of money, and more. While some situations can be fixed in just a day, some identity theft situations can linger on for years and years. Plus, many times you'll feel like your privacy is lost and you may wonder when the next identity theft will happen.

Related read: Do You Have An Emergency List For Your Family?

Here's why you need identity theft protection:

 

Identity theft can happen in so many ways.

Sadly, there are many ways that identity theft could happen. As you can read in TrueIdentity's article How does identity theft happen?, identity theft can happen in ways such as:

• Personal documents being lost or stolen. Documents that contain your personal information is usually one of the biggest reasons for why someone's identity may be stolen.
• Unsafe online data. A lot of identity theft cases are found to be because of things that happen on the internet. You need to keep your passwords safe, watch unknown Wi-Fi connections, only click on links that you know of, and more.
• Company data breaches. It seems like data breaches at companies happen more and more often. This is where hackers may gain access to credit card information that shoppers make, such as at stores like Target.

As you can see, in today's digital age, more and more identity theft is starting to happen. Identity theft can happen so easily, and it may not always be due to an error on your end – it may be due to a company data breach which you have absolutely no control over!

You should always be careful with you private information, and one way is to have identity theft protection (as discussed below).

 

You can never be too careful.

Identity theft is becoming more and more sophisticated. Identity thieves are becoming smarter about how they steal identities.

There are some things that you can do in order to help lower the chances of identity theft such as:

• Don't give out information unless you're sure it's needed. There are many scammers out there just hoping to find someone who will fall for one of their tricks. You should always be sure that you're talking to the right person before you give out any private information.
• Always be careful with what internet connection you use. You never know who else is on the same Wi-Fi as you. For example, they may be stealing your information by logging every key that you type.
• Keep your social security card and number safe. I know way too many people who keep their social security card in their wallet and/or purse. I've even seen numerous people who place their social security cards in the slot where their license goes, so it's in view of everyone whenever they take out their wallet at a store. Instead, you should leave your social security card and number in a safe place instead of on you all the time.
• Shred documents that contain your personal information. Before you throw out papers that contain any personal information, you should shred them. This includes credit card statements, bank statements, bills, and so on.
• Check your credit reports. You should review your credit report at least once a year. You can receive up to three each year for free, though – one from each credit bureau. It's free and I highly recommend doing this!
• Get identity theft protection. This can help protect your identity even further than what you can do.

And, that leads me to the next section…

 

There is a great option to protect you from identity theft.

Identity theft protection such as through TrueIdentity Theft Protection is 100% free and has many great features such as:

• Lock your credit. You just simply log in with your phone and lock it right then and there. You can simply unlock your credit report with another swipe.
• Free identity theft insurance. TrueIdentity Theft Protection is free!
• Free report alerts. With this service, you can stay updated on any changes to your credit report.
• Free means free – pay nothing. No credit card required, no trial period

You don't pay anything in order to use TrueIdentity Theft Protection, you don't have to enter your credit card information, there is no trial period, or anything else. It is a completely free service that anyone can take advantage of.

Please click here to check out TrueIdentity Theft Protection further.

Do you have identity theft protection? Why or why not?

The post Do You Need Identity Theft Protection? appeared first on Making Sense Of Cents.

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