{"id":23872,"date":"2013-06-04T19:05:18","date_gmt":"2013-06-04T23:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=23872"},"modified":"2013-06-04T19:05:18","modified_gmt":"2013-06-04T23:05:18","slug":"how-secure-is-your-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2013\/06\/how-secure-is-your-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"How Secure Is Your Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know identity theft has quickly become the fastest growing crime in America? This year, authorities estimate as many as 10 million Americans will have their identity stolen, and most won\u2019t realize they\u2019ve been victimized until months or even years have passed. This leaves plenty of time for the thief to damage a victim\u2019s good name and good credit.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>You can help reduce your chances of becoming a victim of identity theft by modifying your behavior and safeguarding your personal information. The Lee County Sheriff&#8217;s Office encourages you to take the following quiz to help you identify ways in which you can better protect yourself from identity thieves. Grab a pen and tally your score at the end.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0You receive several pre-approved credit card offers every week. (5 points) Add (5 more points) if you don\u2019t shred them before putting them in the trash.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0You carry your Social Security card in your wallet. (10 points)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0You drop your outgoing mail at an open, unlocked box or basket. (10 points)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0You carry your military ID in your wallet at all times. (10 points)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0You don\u2019t shred or tear banking and credit information when you throw it in the trash. (10 points)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0You provide your Social Security number whenever asked. (10 points) Add (5 points) if you\u00a0provide it orally without checking to see who might be listening.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0You\u2019re required to use your SSN as an employee or student ID number. (5 points)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0Your SSN is printed on an employee badge that you wear. (10 points)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0Your SSN or driver\u2019s license number is printed on your personal checks. (20 points)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0You are listed in a \u201cWho\u2019s Who\u201d guide. (5 points)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0You carry your insurance card in your wallet, and it contains you or your spouse\u2019s SSN number. (20 points)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0You haven\u2019t ordered a copy of your credit report for at least two years. (10 points)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0You don\u2019t believe that people root around in trash looking for credit or financial information. (10 points)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you scored 100 points or greater, you are asking for trouble. Consider purchasing a paper shredder, secure documents better and stop distributing your personal information. If you scored 50-100, your chances of victimization are about average, although higher if you have good credit. If you scored below 50 points, congratulations! Your security awareness is high; keep up the good work.<\/p>\n<p>For more information about identity theft or to report an incident of identity theft, contact the Sheriff\u2019s Office fraud line at 477-1242.\u00a0 Source: The Art of the Steal, Frank Abagna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know identity theft has quickly become the fastest growing crime in America? This year, authorities estimate as many as 10 million Americans will have their identity stolen, and&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23872"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23872\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}