It Takes More Than a Helmet to Protect Yourself Today

November 22, 2013

If you ask fans of the NFL what one of the biggest news stories of the year is, many would say “player safety.” There have been numerous rule changes designed to limit the impact of violent collisions on players’ long term health. This is especially true with hits to the head and neck. Players can no longer use the crown of their helmets to tackle other players. The hoped-for result is fewer concussions that can lead to serious long term health consequences. Penalty flags are common for dangerous plays now and very often players are fined significant sums of money for illegal and dangerous hits. The league and the NFLPA (the players union) take safety and protection very seriously.

This story indicates that players need to take safety and protection very seriously off the field as well. A player for the Philadelphia Eagles did absolutely nothing wrong. He drove his car to work. He had his car parked in an attended lot. He drove home after work. And….in that process….he had over $200,000 stolen from his bank account.

The thief was a parking lot attendant who was able to gather sensitive personal information (bank account numbers, credit card numbers, social security number, etc.) from items left in the car. After all, it’s a locked car in a “secure” parking lot, so it has to be perfectly safe, right? If I were in his position, I would have thought that it was.

Many of us go about our days and don’t give the concept of identity theft or financial fraud a second thought. But it can happen ever so quickly and quietly if we aren’t paying attention. And, with the pace of life seeming to get faster all the time, it’s very easy to take your eye off the ball and become a victim. What can we all do to minimize the chances that we become victims of some type of electronic theft?

Don’t keep personal information in a place that is visible and accessible by others. This could be your car, your office, your unlocked locker at the gym or any other place that isn’t secure. Almost all of us go about our day and never think about the unscrupulous characters out there who will work as hard as you are working to steal information or money at any opportunity.
I know I haven’t balanced my checkbook in years, but I do go online and look at my balance and the most recent transactions every day. If someone were trying to pull small amounts from my account so as to go unnoticed, I’d notice. Awareness of your account activity is a great habit to develop.
Be careful about using public WiFi hotspots. A hacker with the right tools can see every keystroke you make and potentially access your personal data. Save checking in on your financial life for when you are in a more secure environment.
Check your credit report frequently. At www.annualcreditreport.com you can get a free credit report annually from each of the 3 credit bureaus. I order one from a different bureau in January, May and September so that I’m never more than 4 months away from an updated credit report. And you can put alerts on your report so that you are notified of any new account activity.
With two free services (www.creditkarma.com and www.creditsesame.com), I get a monthly update on my credit score, but also an alert any time new credit inquiries are made. If inquiries show up and I’m not making them…there might be trouble ahead.
Before you throw away your junk mail, take a look at the envelope. Is your name “almost” right? Are you getting new magazine subscriptions? Is your middle initial incorrect? Often, something as innocuous as increased junk mail could be an early indicator that there is activity going on in your financial life that you may not be fully aware of.

There are bad guys out there and they aren’t robbing stagecoaches like in old movies. They are using much more stealth and much less physically dangerous behavior. And, every one of us could be a potential target. With a few quick and painless habits, you can go a long way toward protecting your financial life and making yourself a tougher target.