Be Wise in Safeguarding Your Financial Information

The CEO of Facebook recently gave testimony to Congress about the misuse of his company’s users’ personal data. This breach allowed many different sources to have access to personal information that could be misused today and in the future.

This type of situation will continue to be a problem, which is why we should be so careful about the external threats that are entering our world every day. These threats come in many forms: identity theft; computer, phone and credit card scams; financial fraud; insurance fraud — the list goes on. We must be smart about knowing with whom we share our financial details. If this information falls into the wrong hands, it has disastrous ramifications.

Identity theft occurs when a thief steals your personal information and uses it to commit fraud. The thief looks to obtain multiple types of information — such as a Social Security number, your name, your birthday or your address. With this information, the thief then can file false tax returns, get medical services, apply for credit and possibly transfer money.

These acts can cause great damage to one’s credit and can take months or years (and money) to correct. The problem in most cases is that you may not know that you’re a victim of identity theft until after you have begun to experience such financial difficulties as denied loans, credit collections, damaged credit scores and random bills.

Here, from USA.gov, are some common ways to protect yourself:

Secure your Social Security number. Don’t carry your Social Security card in your wallet or write the number on your checks. Only give out your number when absolutely necessary.
Don’t respond to unsolicited requests for personal information by phone, mail or online.
Contact the three credit reporting agencies to request a freeze of your credit reports.
Collect mail promptly. Place a hold on your mail when you are away from home for several days.
Pay attention to your billing cycles. If bills or financial statements are late, contact the sender.
Enable the security features on mobile devices, especially if you have contacts, banking websites and applications saved.
Update sharing and firewall settings when you’re on a public wi-fi network.
Review your credit card and bank account statements. Promptly compare receipts with account statements. Watch for unauthorized transactions.
Shred receipts, credit offers, account statements, and expired credit cards to prevent “dumpster divers” from getting your personal information.
Store personal information in a safe place.
Install firewalls and virus-detection software on your home computer.
Create complex passwords that identity thieves cannot guess easily. Change your passwords if a company that you do business with has a breach of its database.
Review your credit report once a year to be certain that it doesn’t include accounts that you have not opened. You can order it for free from Annualcreditreport.com.

Ecclesiastes 7:12 states, “For wisdom is protection as money is protection, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.”

We must be wise and prudent at protecting what God has blessed us with.

— Nathan McCarthy is president and CEO of the Baptist Foundation of South Carolina.