Can My Trash Lead to My Identity Being Stolen?
It’s true that identity thieves are getting more and more sophisticated in how they access personal information. On the other hand, there are still identity thieves who are not above one of the most tried-and-true methods of identity theft-dumpster diving. All of that junk mail you get, such as credit card pre-approval offers and any other documents containing your personal information, is a prime target for identity thieves. A thief can find out a lot about you by going through your trash and might even be able to apply for loans and credit in your name based solely on the documents he discovers there. In this post, we’ll discuss how dumpster diving is related to identity theft and how you can prevent your trash from making you a victim.
The 411 on Dumpster Diving
Junk mail is an easy target for identity thieves because it often contains personal identifying information and/or credit card pre-approval offers. These kinds of documents can reveal enough about you to empower the thief to hijack your identity. For instance, if a thief came across a credit card pre-approval offer that you had tossed into the trash without a thought, he could easily fill out the application, have the card mailed to another address, and use a different phone number for the account. In that case, one piece of junk mail might have enabled a thief to ravage your credit with fraudulent expenditures. The documents thieves target aren’t just credit-card pre-approval offers. Any items that contain your name, address, phone number, social security number, etc. could potentially reveal enough about you to put you at risk for identity theft.
Don’t Let Your Trash Make You a Victim
You might be aware of the threat junk mail poses to the security of your personal information, so perhaps you always tear sensitive documents up before throwing them away. If you think this is enough, you are mistaken. A thief could easily tape together a credit card application, fill it out, and have your card sent to him at a different address. Some credit card companies will process the application even if it has been taped together, so you don’t want to take the risk. You’re better off either locking away your documents or shredding them. Better yet, you might consider removing yourself from junk mail lists. That way, you can spend less time shredding and worrying about the risks posed by such mail.
