Sam sat down at his computer a few days ago to check his online banking account. Like most other days he was looking to see if there was any extra spending money to go out and enjoy himself. To his amazement his account was in the negative. There were charges their from websites that he knew that he had never visited. Sam immediately called his bank and they were very quick to cancel any pending charges as well has his account. They explained that was a victim of debit card fraud.
They would do their very best to get my money refunded and to set me up with new account information. This was a shock for Sam. He wondered how could this happen to me. There is very little resolution in the fact that it could've been a very much worse. Sam was even more concerned about how did it happen. He wanted to know where did he go, did someone use one of those fancy card reading machines when he sat down on the subway.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Identity theft has increased by an average of 1 million cases per year since 2003.
- The average amount of money the thief gets away with is around $5000.
- It can cost much more just to fix the identity theft is as the average time is 330 hours to fix and identity theft.
- Did you know that many people know the perpetrator.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF?
Make sure this coverage is included in your homeowner policy. The cost can be free or very minimal?
- Some crooks get the information by skimming your card when you do a transaction. Needless to say but your card should always be in your site when completing a transaction.
- Some perpetrators get your information by stealing your mail.
- Others are using probably the most popular method today which is computer hacking. Still others make use the old-fashioned way of simply watching over your shoulder when you login your credentials.
- They are some that behave like private eyes and will actually rummage through your garbage to get your personal information. That old flash drive that you no longer use but forgot that you put your personal information on it banking and others. This becomes easy pickins for thieves.
You might say "I don't want the thing that happened to Sam to happen to me".
What can I do to protect myself?
- When your sin number is requested ask if you can provide alternate information.
- Shred any type of personal information.
- Install antivirus software.
- Always use difficult passwords.
- If you're not using your Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, they should be turned off.
We all know that one should know the state of one's affairs. With busy lives it's not always easy. However you should check your account at least weekly. Sign up with email alerts with your institution. Check your credit score to see if you can find any on authorized activity.
Now that this is happened how do I resolve. Take full advantage of your banks resources that are available to get your credit score back on track.
Use all available resources to restore the worthiness of your credit account.
If something like this is happened to you and you need to know what steps to take be quick to give Bethel insurance a call. We can help you and guide you at some of the decisions you may have to make.
Be safe
Bethel Insurance is a full service insurance brokerage Located in Ajax Ontario. 905 683 2323 www.bethelinsurance.ca