It’s well known that a prime target of identity thieves is your mail. Your mail has most of the information needed to fill out a credit application in your name. The only thing missing is your social security number.
Those of you who use shredders, bravo! You probably shred everything that has your name and address on it. Well done.
Here’s a sneaky tidbit that you need to know about…check out the inside of catalogs. More and more catalogs have a pre-filled out order form within their pages. If you aren’t careful you’ll shred the name and address on the outside of the catalog but forget to rip out the order form. It can easily be overlooked.
Trust me, if I can figure this out then so can an identity thief.
You’ll be getting a ton of catalogs over the next month. Please be careful to shred all of your sensitive information.
John Ulzheimer Formerly with Equifax and Fair Isaac, John shares his unique insight of the inner workings of credit scoring models and the credit reporting industry on Credit.com News & Advice.
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