The majority of us feel safe within our homes. Likewise, we feel our belongings and personal information we store within our homes are safe. The sad truth is, many are discovering how untrue that perception can be.

Something to think about...

• Do you have friends, family or neighbors visit your home?
• Do you every have service providers in your home (plumbers, electricians, contractors, cable man, etc.)?
• Do you have a cleaning service, housekeeper, personal assistant or dog walker that comes into your home?

You would not walk out of your bathroom naked to welcome people into your home, so why leave you personal information so exposed? That is what it comes down to. We need to start treating our personal information with more respect.

• Do you leave mail on the counter?
• Do you leave personal information in unsecured areas such as unlocked drawers or cabinets?
• Are your household bills kept in an open obvious location?
• Do you have a safe or lockbox that is easily portable?

You lock your bathroom door. Lock up your personal information. Safes and lockboxes that are easily portable can be broken into later after they have been removed from your home. Make sure you secure them in place.

• 43% of victims knew the perpetrator (ITRC Aftermath Study, 2004).
• In cases of child identity theft, the most common perpetrator is the child's parent (ITRC Aftermath Study, 2004). (source)

How are they getting your information:

• Stolen wallets and physical paperwork accounts for almost half (43%) of all identity theft (Javelin Strategy and Research, 2009).
• Online methods accounted for only 11% (Javelin Strategy and Research, 2009).
• 38% of ID theft victims had their debit or credit card number stolen (Javelin Strategy and Research, 2009).
• 37% of ID theft victims had their Social Security number stolen (Javelin Strategy and Research, 2009).
• 36% of ID theft victims had their name and phone number compromised (Javelin Strategy and Research, 2009).
• 24% of ID theft victims had their financial account numbers compromised (Javelin Strategy and Research, 2009).
• More than 35 million data records were compromised in corporate and government data breaches in 2008 (ITRC).
• 59% of new account fraud that occurred in 2008 involved opening up a new credit card and store-branded credit card accounts (Javelin Strategy and Research, 2009).   (source)

Two great reads:

#1 The main thing is they stole our kid's identity : Short article on a couple who found the most valuable thing stolen from their home during a break-in was their children's personal information.

#2 Official Identity Theft Statistics : This site did a great job gathering the most recent information from the many research agencies out there reporting on ID Theft.

By Stacey Jimenez at 7:03:34  Comments: 0