Thursday, January 16, 2014

How you can protect your identity on your own

This article came to the fore (again) right after the Target debacle during the holidays. Still pertinent today:

After trending downward for four years, identity theft is on the rise again. Last year more than 11 million consumers were hit by the crime. That's a record, according to Javelin Strategy and Research, a California company that has surveyed 5,000 adults on the subject every year since 2003. The jump is partly a result of the recession, Javelin says, when fraud tends to spike.

But you don't need to sign up for expensive services offered by credit-reporting bureaus and other companies to keep your identity safe. Most of their products are unnecessary or ineffective, or they duplicate things you can do yourself—free. Our own assessment of some two dozen identity-theft protection products crowding the market found dubious value. Here's how to protect yourself.

How you can protect your identity on your own

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