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Blog: Minimizing Financial Clutter
 52 WEEKS TO FINANCIAL ORGANIZATION: #25 – Identity Theft
I just read a startling statistic: 9 MILLION cases of identity theft are reported annually! Don't become part of that statistic. You've spent a lot of time organizing your financial records. Now you need to protect them!
The Department of Justice offers a handy acronym, SCAM, to advise us how to avoid being a victim of identity theft:
STINGY – Be stingy about giving out your Social Security number. There are very few organizations that legitimately need your Social Security number: your employer, financial institutions, and current or prospective creditors. Some businesses still routinely ask for it, though, "just for their records". If you don't know why someone is asking you for your Social Security number, it's OK to ASK! Ask how they plan to use it, how they plan to protect it, and what will happen if you decline to give it to them.
CHECK your financial information regularly. Now, how many times have I told you to open your mail?!? Checking for fraudulent transactions is yet another reason to do so. One of the favorite tricks of identity thieves is hijacking your mail. If you get in the habit of looking for and opening your bills and bank statements on a regular basis, you'll be aware if you suddenly stop receiving mail from one of your creditors or banks.
ASK for a copy of your credit report once a year – and read it! Look for lines of credit for which you did not apply. (If you've been following the 52 Week Plan, you already applied for your credit reports from the 3 major credit reporting agencies. If not, go to www.annualcreditreport.com to obtain your credit reports.)
MAINTAIN careful records of your financial and bank accounts. Now, I KNOW you are already doing this, right? We need to keep good records anyway for tax records. Maintaining good financial records has the added benefit of being able to more easily trace and prove fraudulent transactions.
Your Homework for This Week:
· Take your Social Security card out of your wallet immediately! Store it in your home safe, a locked file cabinet, or other safe place. If you haven't done so already, memorize your Social Security number in case you need it when you are away from home. Do not carry your card with you.
· Put on your Sherlock Holmes cap and review your bills for the past 3 months. Become familiar with the regular monthly charges so you'll more easily be able to spot any future questionable transactions. Are you paying for services you don't want or need – or never asked for in the first place? If so, call the customer service number on the bill to straighten it out.
· Carefully review your 3 credit reports. Call the credit reporting agency if you find anything that is incorrect or fraudulent.
posted on: 8/2/2009 11:30:00 AM by Katherine Trezise
category: Finances
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Minimizing Financial Clutter
by Katherine Trezise
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About Katherine:
Katherine Trezise is president of Absolutely Organized, based in Baltimore, MD. She is president-elect of the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization. Katherine holds a masters degree in business administration, is a Certified Professional Organizer® and a Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization®. Absolutely Organized specializes in helping people organize their homes, paperwork and financial records to make room in their lives for the things, people and activities that are most important to them.
Katherine's Website:
www.absolutely-organized.com
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