2013 SPRING ISSUE | CHOICES 23
SHRED, SHRED, SHRED
Shred. One of the most
6 foolproof ways to guard against dumpster divers is to shred your documents. Before you throw personal data away, put it through a shredder. There are many inexpensive personal shredders available through discount, department, and office stores these days. A cross-cut shredder, sometimes called a diamond shredder for the shapes it cuts the paper into, is safer than a shredder which merely cuts paper into strips – but any shredding is better than none. These shredders are inexpensive and worth the money.
You should shred:
• Credit card receipts
• Credit card applications
• Expired credit cards
• Account statements
• Loan applications
• Court records
• Anything containing your Social Security number
• Anything containing any personal information
Consider purchasing a scanner, scan all documents and save them on your computer system before you shred them. When in doubt – scan, save, then shred the original!
KEEP AN EYE ON CREDIT CARDS
Be careful with your credit
7 and ATM cards.
• While you can’ t guarantee a waiter won’ t‘ skim’ your credit card, you can minimize your risk by using it less. Always check and verify your credit card with your bank online. You do not have to wait for your bank statements at the end of the month.
While ATMs might have undetectable skimmers, independent ATM machines are more likely to have been tampered with than those which belong to banks. And make sure no one is looking over your shoulder!
Don’ t ever give out your credit card number, over the phone or even in person, unless you initiate the purchase.
Copy the front and back of your credit cards, as well as the customer service credit card numbers. Store the information in a safe place. You can scan this information, too, and save it on your computer.
UPDATE YOUR ANTI-VIRUS
8
Make sure your anti-virus and anti-spyware software programs are up-to-date.
Avoid phishing scams. Never follow a hyperlink in an email. Type the official address of the company’ s website into your browser yourself, or call the company to see if the e-mail is legitimate.
Don’ t respond to“ remove me from your list” links. This will notify a scammer that your e-mail address is active, and make you a potential mark. Most email software programs have spam folders where you can move these and other unwanted email file to be purged from your inbox.