Use the clear button after you get your receipt when pumping gas at the gas station. It should be on the bottom left hand side. A dishonest employee could possibly use the stored info you leave at the pump if you don't. This has happened before to other people. I am going to start pushing the clear button from now on.
By Robyn Fed from Hampton, TN
This page contains the following solutions.
On the "new cards", instead of signing my signature on the back, I put "ASK FOR ID" and it works fine for me. I don't believe a thief would try using these.
I now wrap my CC and debit cards in an aluminum foil wrap. This prevents anyone from downloading the numbers if they try to scan my purse. This practice is also good if you carry your Social Security and health cards.
Let's talk emails. You get the cute ones from friends , the important ones from work and family and then you get the ones that are disguised. These emails are set up to fool you and convince you to give information that sets you up for a fall. Possibly for identity theft.
If you're like us, chances are you know someone who's been taken for a ride by an identity thief. It's a bad ordeal, and when you're pinching pennies, it can be the last straw if someone invades your financial privacy.
Keep a pair of scissors near your paper shredder. Then you can cut the private information off of the page, and shred that. Keep the rest of that sheet for scratch paper.
Each year 8.4 million Americans are victims of identity theft. Ask around and it shouldn't be hard to find someone who can recant the tale of stolen identity.
Computers, tablets, and smartphones are a part of everyone's life these days. Therefore, it's vital that we understand the importance of protecting our data when online.
Those of us who have Medicare cards know our social security numbers are on them. I had always wondered about that, since it is not a good idea to carry your social security card with you.
Check your online banking frequently! Someone has stolen my debit card and has been taking $75.00 per day from our checking account. I have not used it at any unfamiliar places. They have stolen over $600.00.
When ordering checks, have only your initials printed in the heading with your address. When signing your checks, use your full name (first and last).
Beware if anyone is going thru your trash. I know a lady who isn't at home much during the daytime. One day the UPS man showed up at her house with a whole truckload of packages for her.
As with any crime, you can't guarantee that you will never be a victim, but you can minimize your risk. By managing your personal information widely, cautiously and with an awareness of the issue, you can help guard against identity theft.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My mother gets hundreds of the sticky return address labels, we have been cutting them up and trashing them. They destroy shredders, by gumming up the blades. How can we get them to stop sending them and what is an easier way to dispose of them?
By jeanne
One idea is to refuse the letter that contains the labels. Do not open the letter, just write refused on the face of the letter and return the letter to the postman. Another is to contact the folks sending the labels and ask to be taken off their mailing list.
Also, you may check out on google and look for web page that will put you on a do not mail list. I get labels in the mail from time to time but I use them on my mail that I send out.
If they gum up your shredder try using some rubbing alcohol on the sticky side to remove the glue before shredding.
I wouldn't worry too much about identity theft and address labels - anyone can look up your address in the phone book/internet and find your name and address. The library has city directories, too, and people can look up deed information in the town hall.
I use free address labels on my books, cds, and dvds to make sure I get them back if I loan them out. I also sometimes put them on my office supplies at work to make sure they don't wander too far. :)
These ideas are good, but failing that, you can just recycle the paper. I recycle as much paper as I can.
You can also use them if you go to any kind of "show" where you can submit your name and address on an entry form for (whatever). If I live to 100 I'll never use all of the labels I have so I've started cutting off the little decorative picture/initial/flower and attaching them onto my bill payment envelopes.
If your mother puts her return address on mail that she sends out, what is the difference if she writes it or sticks it on. Here is what she can do with them. If she has friends and relatives who she writes to and they write to her, have her send them each a page so that when they address the envelopes they can just put one of her stickers on. And then she should just use them.
Opt out on junk mail and you won't have this problem. Only junk mail I get is grocery store flyer which I'm glad to get. I've opted out with every business I deal with telling them I don't want anything from their parent or otherwise companies. I pay my bills online and don't get statements. I get very little mail which is fine with me.
There truly is no cause to worry about these labels causing identity theft. Can anyone else steal your mom's identity simply knowing only her postal address? No way.
There are some great ideas here already for stopping them being sent to her in the first place and also great ideas for reuse and recycling instead of cutting up and throwing in the trash so please take a deep breath of relief and consider making the best of the freebies that are being sent to her. :-)
First, make use of the whole labels to attach on mail you send out.
Second, use whole labels to identify your pot luck dishes, utensils, casserole dishes for friends, family, or neighbors.
Thirdly, label condiments, books, movies, and music, adding a blank label, to name the item, from Avery "peel and stick office labels" you find at thrift stores and garage sales, very inexpensively.
Finally, cut off the pretty pictures to add color, excitement, and design to use like stickers and stamps on letters, artwork, and scrapbooks.
I stockpile them. Then when I get a decent amount, I burn them up in the backyard (be careful not to breathe in the fumes!)
I don't send out much mail and even if I did (and did all the other suggested uses), I could never go through the stack of labels I'm accumulated. Between those, the note pads, calendars and other miscellaneous items I've received (pens, bookmarks, socks, Tshirt, shopping bags, prayer book and a crucifix), I can't help but be annoyed at all the wasted money that could be better spent on the projects for which these charities are trying to raise money. Heck, just yesterday, I got 9 charitable mailings!!!
Maybe if we just soak the labels in a bucket of water for a bit, the ink will disintegrate?
I've started looking up the heads of these companies and sending them letters stating that I will no longer send contributions if they continue to send any personalized items, including address labels.
I also sent letters to all my state and national government representatives asking them to implement a law prohibiting the mailing of unsolicited, personalized items.
Mail theft is a federal crime but that doesn't deter some people. Having a secure mailbox is the best way to prevent mail theft. This is a page about preventing mail theft.
This is a tip for those that don't put their name and address in the trash. We get lots of free mailing labels in the mail. When I have an excess, I pull them off, a bunch at the time, and roll them up sticky side out. The name and address are hidden, and they are ready to go in the trash. I think it would be almost impossible to get them untangled.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Help yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft: Do not keep anything in your wallet/purse with your Social Security number on it.
