4 Key Pieces to Your Identity
Jackie here. These days, it may seem like almost any bit of personal information about you can be used by fraudsters to commit ID theft. While methods are evolving, there are some standard pieces of information that make it much easier to pose as another person. Let’s take a look at what information thieves need to capitalize on your identity.
Your Name
You use it all the time. It’s on your name tag at work, proudly displayed across your social accounts, and something you share with the doctors, repair people, and even strangers at the grocery store. Your name is a big key to your identity. That doesn’t mean you should start keeping it a secret, though. Your name might be one key to your identity, but typically it must be paired with other information for ID theft to occur. What’s more, in some instances, ID thieves don’t use your real name at all, but instead pair other pieces of your identifying information with a different name.
Your Social Security Number
Who have you shared your SSN with lately? You might not openly tell this number to friends and family, but odds are you’ve given it to doctors, utility companies, and others more times than you realize over the years.
Your Address
Your address isn’t typically a secret (friends, family, and neighbors all know it), but it is an important part of your identity. With a name and an address, thieves can often access accounts, sometimes even sensitive ones. Your address can also be used to redirect mail, giving identity thieves a treasure trove of personal information. While you can’t keep your address a complete secret, you can take steps to better protect it. Don’t share it openly on sites like Facebook or Twitter. LexisNexis found that a surprising 20% of consumers admit to sharing their addresses on social media.
Your Date of Birth
If your PIN for your bank account is the year of your birth, change it immediately. Every combination of 19XX make up the top 20% of most common PIN numbers. Your birthdate can also be the final piece of identifying information to unlock various accounts.
These four keys to your identity are things we share daily. In fact, the only thing on this list that you don’t share often is your SSN. Do your best to protect your information, but know that it is out there. Watch closely for the signs of ID theft so you can catch it quickly if it does occur.