Mailbox security practices won’t protect you from Internet hackers or data breaches of planetary magnitude, but it’s a good place to start.
Along with lost and stolen wallets, home mailboxes provide a huge cache of information for identity thieves. There are, however, a number of simple measures you can employ to protect your identity and credit from thieves.
Never leave incoming mail in the box. Grabbing one credit card, a pre-approved credit card offer or credit card statement out of the box is the simplest way for an identity thief to start a spending spree at your expense.
Never leave payments in your mailbox. That raised red flag is a siren song to thieves.
Best bet: Use your home mailbox as a decorative planter, and rent a mailbox at your local post office instead. In most zip codes, mailbox rental costs between $10 and $20 every six months.
Receive and pay you statements online. Contrary to what you might have heard, the Internet is far safer than giving and receiving by mail – and you get to enjoy that warm, fuzzy feeling for preserving our forests.
Keep in mind, though, that while these practices reduce your chance of being victimized, LifeLock helps to take your protection to the next level.
Identity thieves very often submit a change of address request to redirect someone else’s mail. That’s why LifeLock developed TrueAddress to scan the millions of address change requests given to the US Postal Service. If your address shows up, you’ll be notified immediately, and LifeLock will work with you to secure your information.
If your wallet is ever lost or stolen, make a single call to LifeLock – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – and they’ll immediately begin canceling and replacing all your lost or stolen documents.
And that data breach thing? Visit LifeLock.com to learn more about their other identity theft protection services, and find out why they’ve become the service of choice for almost 1.5 million customers. When you’re ready to enroll, use the LifeLock promotional code Defense and get a discount on service.
