Key Takeaways
- Never readily give away your personal information.
- By putting your personal information on social media, you have a very high probability of having your identity stolen.
- There are rules you can follow to help protect yourself from identity theft.
It’s not uncommon to find yourself on the receiving end of questions like, “Where were you born?” or “What’s your date of birth?” These are questions that, in today’s world, you need to be very careful about answering. And according to Frank Abagnale, you NEVER want to answer them on social media.
Frank Abagnale is a former con artist turned cyber expert for the FBI. Leonardo DiCaprio played him in the 2002 movie “Catch Me If You Can.” According to Abagnale, if you put this information on the internet, there’s a 98% chance you’ll have your identity stolen.
In addition to not revealing your birthdate and birthplace on social media, Abagnale offers some specific advice on avoiding identity theft. His new book, “Scam Me If You Can: Simple Strategies to Outsmart Today’s Rip-off Artists,” discusses five rules to follow.
Number one, protect your identity. What does this mean? Well, it’s not unusual for many different services and organizations to ask for information beyond what they really need. For instance, your Social Security number, your date of birth, and so on…even though the information isn’t relevant to why you’re engaging with them. Don’t answer these questions—simply refuse. You may receive some push back, but keep your guard up, especially if they insist they need the information right away. Verify who you’re talking with and why they need the information.
Number two, secure your finances. Here, Abagnale is referring to those who claim they can double your money overnight, guaranteed. These are quick-scam con artists who will take your money and run. Some are obvious, and you know they’re a scam, but others can be more subtle and sophisticated. An honest financial planner will tell you nothing is guaranteed, so be careful who you trust to handle your money.
Number three, preserve your digital presence. Don’t put your important documents online, in the cloud, or all saved on one laptop. Instead, keep them saved to an external hard drive where the information isn’t vulnerable to hackers. Alternatively, you may even want to consider going old school and keep physical documents safeguarded in a safe deposit box.
Number four, safeguard your home and hearth. If you’re like most people, it’s likely that you receive phone calls from unknown numbers every so often. When this happens, don’t answer. If you do happen to answer, don’t speak. The reason for this, according to Abagnale, is that it may be someone trying to record your voice. In saying nothing, the caller will usually hang up.
Number five, shelter your heart. This is in reference to online dating. Abagnale counsels that you always verify that the person on the other side of the app is real. Do an online search to confirm the person’s claims regarding who they are, and don’t let your heartstrings blind you to a potential scam.
For more information on the subject of identity theft, please see our blog post from February 28, 2018, 3 Steps to Protect Your Identity. The post contains a link to a video of Abagnale where he provides some more information on this very important topic. Until next time, enjoy.
Gary
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