You don’t know whom you are giving the information to. Websites on the Internet can seem legit even though some of them aren’t. Here are six reasons why you need to protect your personal information online.
Your information can lead to someone stealing your identity
Your information can end up being stolen to use to your identity. This is tough one because some people won’t mess up your credit, but they will use your information to get a job somewhere. Another reason why people steal your identity is to use it for credit purposes sometimes or even open new bank accounts. Some people can even deposit money into bank accounts across the country in your name without you even knowing about it once they steal your identity. It is important to keep your information safe. Make sure to check on your credit report and credit cards on a regular basis.
Store employees can use your information to commit fraud along with other things
The Company may seem legit, but be careful about store employees stealing your information. It is common for store employees to steal information from customers. They usually will write down credit card numbers and then go make purchases on the Internet. Another thing that they do to steal your information is to write down the security code on the back of the credit cards.
You don’t want someone to know a lot of information about you
You want to make sure that nobody can find you by your personal information on the Internet. You want to make sure to keep your personal information private unless you know for a fact that a company is one you can trust. Make sure that the website has a security thing on it when you give them your information. Most of the major retail stores online you usually don’t have a problem with identity theft. Credit card companies can basically sell all of your information except for your credit card number on a regular basis.
Your information can be sold for advertisement purposes
All those reward cards and similar cards have been known to keep track of every purchase. They know exactly what you buy and how much you buy. They know exactly what your shopping habits are. They will sell your information to marketing companies so that you get advertisements from companies regarding some of the products or similar products that you would like to buy.
Keep Your Guard Up
Don’t give out your personal information to just anyone. How many times while filling out a job application have you seen the employer ask for your social security number? It’s common but giving it to them is not a wise thing to do. A perspective employer does not need your social security number until they hire you. Just where does your application go if they don’t hire you? Is the application shredded? Usually it is not shredded. I’m sure most places (as they will tell you) keep the application on file for ninety days or so. Is your application in a locked file cabinet?
Follow these suggestions and remember just how to be safe. You can protect your personal information online and other places. Just be aware of how people’s personal identity is most commonly compromises.