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Tips for Protecting your Financial Information

mobile-security-threats-financial-aidBy Ryan Laspina
Senior Specialist, Red Flags and External Reviews at APUS

In an ever-evolving technological world, one drawback many citizens are seeing is that their financial information can be compromised if they are not careful. Cyber-attacks, dishonest people, and security breaches have all contributed to people having their financial information stolen. While there is no possible way to completely negate the threat of identity theft or the protection of your financial information, the tips below provide insight into how to protect yourself from these crimes.

1. Never provide a stranger with your personal identifying information (PII).
This includes your social security number, full name, and/or date of birth. The combination of all three is usually all a criminal needs to steal your identity. Obviously, you have to provide this information to your school, your employer, and other legitimate organizations. You should never provide that information to someone who does not have the credentials to handle PII.

2. Minimize the use of your debit card.
It is much easier to put a fraudulent amount from your credit card in dispute than it is to recover stolen funds from your checking account. Debit cards have their use, but recent data compromises at stores such as Target show that even large, trusted corporations can be victims of security breaches.

3. Check your credit report every so often to make sure there are no illegitimate charges on the report.
The faster you catch illegal activity, the easier it is to get it corrected. If you see a loan that should not be on your credit report you should contact the loan servicer, as well as your credit bureau immediately.

4. Routinely balance your checkbook against your bank statements.
This will help you find any potential discrepancies with your debit card. You will want to find any fraudulent charge on your bank account as soon as possible so that it can be resolved quicker.

5. Keep all of your credit card receipts until your bill drops.
Many people either throw their receipts away or decline receiving one when they use their credit card. Balancing your credit card bill against your receipts is a great way to monitor your account for fraudulent activities.

At some point in your life, you will probably become a victim of identity theft, or your financial information will be compromised. There is no foolproof way to protect yourself, but the above tips will provide you with ways to not only help negate these crimes, but how to quickly and efficiently detect them and correct them.

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