Every day people have their vehicles broken into. It is a statistic that doesn’t alarm most of us these days. But what if an identity thief broke into your car? What information might they find? Here are some potential “goldmine” items for an identity thief. How many of these are you guilty of?
- Cell phone / Laptops / Tablets – You would be amazed at how many people keep their banking information or other sensitive information on their smartphones, laptop or tablet and don’t have them password protected! If your smartphone, laptop or tablet falls into the hands of an identity thief they could have access to your emails, could even change your email password thus locking you out and “hijacking” your email account. They could access your bank account(s), credit card account(s), online passwords or any other personal information you might have.
What should you do?
- Setup passwords on your smartphones, laptops and tablets devices. Don’t use obvious passwords that someone could easily guess.
- Protect your passwords. Use a password management software to store your passwords and don’t put passwords in text files, contact files or notepad files. These do not provide protection against an ID thief. Do some research before you select a password management software and make sure your “master password” to get into the software is a strong password (i.e. 8 characters or more with a combination of upper case, lower case letters, numbers and special characters.
- As far as possible, don’t leave your smartphone, laptop or tablet in your car. If you have to, store it out of sight before you get to your destination ***.
- Checkbook – With your check book, the identity thief could get your banking information (i.e. bank name, routing number, ABA) and order a set of checks shipped to their address. Or use that information to pay their accounts or make purchases online. A safe practice is not to leave your checkbook in your car unattended. As stated above, if you have to leave it in your car, store it out of sight before you get to your destination ***.
- Wallet / purse – It goes without saying that your wallet or purse could be a “jackpot” for an identity thief. However, there is one item that you should not carry in your wallet or purse and that is your Social Security Card. Leave that locked away in a safe place in your home or a secure location.
- Junk mail / bills / applications – Your junk mail, bills or applications in the hands of an identity thief can give them valuable information about you like your address, account number, balances or allow them to open fraudulent accounts with your information. Take these items with you and don’t leave them in your vehicle.
- Registration – Don’t keep the registration or anything with your address on it in the glove compartment. Of course you need to be able to present it if needed or requested by a police officer. So you need to get creative on where you can keep it instead of the glove compartment. Keep in mind that criminals are usually on a time crunch and will first go to the obvious places. A car safe could be an option that would slow them down or deter them and keep your personal information protected. Click here to see an example
- Spare keys – It is a very bad practice to keep a spare key in your vehicle. As a matter of fact, spare vehicle keys should not be “hidden” anywhere on your car or near your car if parked at your residence. The thieves know all of the usual places to look for a spare key. Spare house keys also should not be kept in your vehicle.
Tips for preventing vehicle theft
- Never leave your car running while unattended
- Always lock your car
- Park where it is well illuminated and “busy”
- Hide your items before your reach your destination. Don’t leave anything visible that would invite a thief to break into your vehicle ***
- Be aware of your surroundings
- Remove your car alarm or theft protection decals. Instead of deterring a thief, now days it lets them know how to break into your car. By knowing which theft deterrent device you have they can determine how to inactivate it.
*** Note if you are going to hide things in your glove compartment or trunk, do it before you get to your destination. Someone might just be watching you at your destination looking to see if you lean over to hide valuables in the glove compartment put something in the trunk. Once you are gone, guess where they are headed?
