They're Watching

Boy! Did I Have Fun

I awoke yesterday to nice email from AMEX in the form of a fraud alert.  To ensure it was not a phishing email, I logged in to my account, and sure enough in big red letters, there was the fraud warning. According to the representative at AMEX, I was in France, and then over to Italy, bought some soccer equipment from the UK, acquired some health insurance on and a new web site.  All of the purchases were internet based which is what triggered the fraud alert.  All is well and nothing hit my account, but I do have a new card on the way in the mail.  It was a little bit of an inconvenience but nothing compared to identity theft. 

I check my bank and credit card accounts daily for that very reason. I also have identity theft protection on all of my accounts and with the credit bureaus.  I am not paranoid, but I am cautious when it comes to my credit, bank accounts, and identity.  Hackers and identity thieves are very subtle. They typically try a small amount charge first.  If the first transaction is successful, more transactions with larger amounts come next and before you know it, thousands are missing from your account. 

There are a few things to help avoid fraud and identity theft.

• Check your accounts regularly (I check daily).
• Avoid using common passwords like birthdays, addresses, children’s names, or pet’s names, and use a combination of upper/lower case letters along with numbers and a symbol. 
• Set up account alerts for charge or withdrawal activity over a certain dollar amount.
• Protect vital personal information like social security and driver’s license numbers. 
• Maintain a list of all accounts and contact numbers in case of fraud.