Danielle's Brush With Identity Theft - Tips For Defending Yourself!
Welcome to Saving Money with Andrew!
Every year, millions of Americans are victims of identity theft. Recently, loyal reader Danielle (a pseudonym) joined that unfortunate club. In the hours and days afterward, she took steps to protect herself and minimize the damage. Here’s what she did:
Catch The Theft Early With (Free or Low Cost) Credit Monitoring, And Periodically Check Your Credit Reports
Danielle found out about the theft from the free credit monitoring service provided by her bank. This gave her a crucial head start, allowing her to take essential steps before the thief could cause any harm.
So, check to see if your bank offers free credit monitoring. If they don’t, see if you’ve ever been victim of a larger security breach. If so, there’s a good chance you’re eligible for free credit monitoring—we’ve received years of free monitoring from AllClearID because of a prior breach, and they send us an alert whenever there is any activity on one of our credit reports.
In addition, set a periodic reminder to check your credit reports free at AnnualCreditReport.com to make sure there are no unfamiliar accounts opened in your name.
If You’re A Victim, Go To IdentityTheft.gov
In Danielle’s words IdentityTheft.gov, a site created by the Federal Trade Commission, “might be one of the best websites the federal government has”.
At the site, you complete a quiz explaining what happened to you, and then it gives you a to do list of some of the most important things to do to protect yourself and mitigate the damage.
Consider A Credit Freeze and Filing Fraud Alerts
In the wake of the theft, Danielle froze her credit with each of the three major credit bureaus, preventing anyone from opening new accounts in her name. While it’s a hassle to freeze credit (since you’ll need to unfreeze if you want to open new credit accounts, among other things), it provides significant protection if your identity is stolen.
In addition, you can file a fraud alert with each credit bureau to require creditors to take additional steps to verify your identity before taking various actions.
Consider An Identity Protection PIN With The IRS
One of the most nefarious things a scammer can do with your info is to file a false tax return in your name (generally to falsely claim various tax credits or refunds). Fortunately, the IRS has a service that allows you to request an “identity protection PIN”, a code that must be used to file a tax return in your name for a given year. While it’s a hassle to have to remember to get a new PIN each year (you need to use the PIN or your return will be rejected), it’s a useful safeguard to protect yourself.
Finally, Enable Multifactor Authentication For All Your Online Accounts
Please, please enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for any of your important online accounts (email, bank, credit card, etc), even if only to have sites send you a text with a verification code before allowing you to log in. As I said a few years ago, “two-factor authentication with text message verification isn't perfect—a determined thief could try to access your cellphone—[but] it will stop most attackers.” To get you started, here’s a guide to set up 2FA on your Google account.
And now, Andrew’s pick(s) of the week:
What does it mean to “shop like a billionaire”? If you watched Temu’s six (!) Super Bowl ads in February, you were probably as confused as I was. Planet Money takes on the unsettling Temu phenomenon in an interesting recent episode.
Also:
We’re Working Less on Fridays Than We Used to, and That’s OK
Restaurants Are Too Loud. Turns Out We Like Them That Way. (I don’t!)
I hope this has been helpful. If you liked it, please share it on social media! Also, please send me your feedback, requests, and success stories.