The global financial crisis has given people plenty to worry about: diminished retirement accounts, decreased job security, upside down mortgages and failing businesses to name a few of the common concerns. But even greater than all these is the worry about identity theft and credit card fraud, according to a recent Unisys Security Index report.
After surveying more than 1,000 American adults, the related findings were:
- Two-thirds of respondents placed themselves in the categories of “extremely” or “very” worried about credit card and debit card fraud.
- Nearly half said they worry about viruses and phishing attempts.
- Two-thirds worry about identity theft.
- Two-thirds are very concerned about abuse or unauthorized access to their personal information.
This is the first time survey participants said they are more worried about finances than national security.
There are a number of steps people can take to protect their credit and general finances, but despite a concerted education efforts, few people practice most widely proscribed recommendations:
- Carry only the essentials in a wallet
- Eliminate mailed credit card offers
- Maintain computer security
- Monitor credit reports and financial statements
- If you think you are or may become and ID theft victim, place fraud alerts and renew them every 90 days
- Shred mail
- Use public mailboxes
Some identity theft services offer many of these services as a convenience, charging roughly $180 to $200 a month. LifeLock provides assistance with many of these services, and offers other innovative security services, including WalletLock™, eRecon™ and TrueAddress™.
Visit LifeLock.com to learn more about their comprehensive services. Use the LifeLock discount code DEFENSE and pay only $9 a month after a 30-day free trial. At the end of the 30-day free period, your card will be automatically billed $9 monthly unless you cancel within that first 30-day period. You can cancel anytime without penalty by calling 1-800-LIFELOCK. This offer is for new LifeLock members only.
Tags: ID theft, ID theft protection, Identity Theft, identity theft prevention, LifeLock discount, LifeLock review
If all these people are extremely worried they should take your advise and get cheap protection from LifeLock.
You’d have to be crazy not to be scared! A friend just had wallet stolen (while in church!) EVERYTHING even SSN was in it. I told him about Walletlock. He said he’s signing up.