|
Credit Reports
Types of Credit Reports:
-Single
-3-in-1
-Credit Monitoring System
-Free Credit Report
Credit
Report Basics:
-Ordering
a Report Yearly
-Common
Questions
-Determining
Scores
-Interpreting Reports
-Disputing
Errors
--more
basics
Credit Achieving Tips:
-Improving
Credit Scores
-Building Credit
-Re-building
Credit
Credit Scoring Blunders:
-Late
Payments
--more
mistakes
Identity Theft:
-Identity Theft Basics
-Resolving
-Preventing
-Credit
Card Theft
-Kids
& Identity Theft
-Seniors & Identity Theft
-Internet Phishing
-Privacy Questions to Ask
Mortgages
Auto Loans
Personal Loans
Debt Consolidation
Credit Cards
Home
-Taxes
-Managing Money
-Credit Help
-Checking Accounts
|
PRIVACY QUESTIONS TO ASK BUSINESSES
Nowadays, everyone from doctors to financial
planners maintain records of your personal information.
How can you be certain that a business is keeping your
personal data safe? Identity theft as a result of
consumer data being lost by businesses is a rising
crime. Below are five important questions that should be
asked prior to you disclosing any of your personal
information, i.e. date of birth, SSN, address, etc..
Why do you need my information?
It is likely that that your Social Security Number will
not have to be kept by any business. See if you can use
some sort of different custom ID in substitution of your
SSN. It is also possible that you can decline to provide
personal information in some instances, i.e. disclosing
your phone number when checking out a store.
How is my information going to be used?
It is always a good idea to ask how your personal
data is going to be used. Is your social security number
going to be used for accessing your credit file? Will
your data be sold to third party vendors? By law, any
company asking for personal information must give you
the option of of opting-out from sharing your non-public
personal info with other businesses.
How will are you going to be storing my information,
keeping it safe?
Any reputable company should have concrete plans as
to how your information will be safeguarded. Find what
the business does to ensure computer security? Is a
firewall used? Will information transferred online be
protected by a secure system? Are file cabinets locked?
Who will have access to your personal information?
Has there ever been any sort of security breach
within your company?
Some state laws require businesses to disclose if
they have experienced any sort of loss or theft of
personal information. Find out if their computer system
has ever been hacked into or records have ever been
stolen.
How are old records disposed of?
Any sort of personal information should be shredded.
An identity thief can steal any data thrown out without
being shredded. Find out how long your information will
be kept before it is destroyed. Is a commercial garbage
company used for disposing shredded material?
Don't feel uncomfortable about asking any of the above
questions. Any reputable company will have no problem
answering your concerns. Data theft from doctors
offices, universities, and other businesses is a quickly
rising crime. You should do everything you can to
protect yourself from becoming a victim of
identity theft.
What is a Computer Virus?
|
