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For individual victims of identity crime, the impact can be devastating both emotionally and financially, as it can take years and cost thousands of dollars to restore their good names.
In response to the increase in identity theft, the Australian Government has produced a kit to help business owners and individuals to prevent and respond to identity theft. Here is checklist of practices that increase the likelihood of you becoming a victim of identity theft:
- Having more credit cards in your wallet than you need.
- Letting your credit card out of your sight when paying a bill.
- Leaving your personal documents lying around.
- Having an insecure home letterbox.
- Having anything in your car glove box that could identify you.
- Putting sensitive papers in your household garbage bins.
- Giving your credit card details over the phone.
- Buying goods and services on the internet.
- Forgetting to check your credit report regularly.
- Forgetting to change your ISP password regularly.
- Keeping personal information on your computer hard drive.
- Forgetting to regularly update your virus protection.
- Using public access computers.
- Lacking a personal firewall protection.
The Kit suggests some simple steps you can take to minimize your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft, which includes:
- Destroy all identifying information when disposing of personal papers, including bank statements and utility bills, such as electricity and gas bills.
- Don't give out your personal information over the phone or by email unless you have initiated the contact or are confident the caller is who he or she claims to be.
- Check accounts and other records carefully. Know when accounts are due. A late or missing account could mean a billing address has been changed and your identity has possibly been stolen.
- Use a separate bank account with a low credit limit for internet transactions.
The kit, "How to prevent and respond to identity theft" can be downloaded from the Attorney-General's Department website at www.ag.gov.au
Source: business.gov.au
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