Protect Identity Fraud
Sadler wants to help protect our customers from identity theft – a very real threat in Canada and online. The best defense is to follow these 7 tips provided in part by our partner, Wawanesa Insurance.
Protect your personal information. Don’t give out your bank account information, credit card number , SIN or any passwords over the phone or via email unless you know the person you’re talking to or you have initiated contact, and unless absolutely necessary.
Notify the bank IMMEDIATELY when if your credit cards are stolen.
Pay attention to your bills. Visually scan your transactions and make sure they’re all yours every month. If you see anything funny, call ASAP! If some of your bills fail to arrive, make sure you check into it to ensure they haven’t been redirected.
Use strong passwords. Using you birthday or your oldest child’s name just won’t cut it if you’re trying to outsmart identity thieves. Try a combination of upper and lowercase letters, and numbers.
Hide your PIN. When you are making a purchase at a store, hide your PIN with your hand to make sure no one can see it.
When in doubt, shred it. Invest in a shredder and make sure all receipts, bills or anything with personal information on it is shredded immediately after use. Don’t throw out your personal information with the trash!
Be cautious online. Shopping and banking online is perfectly safe if you make sure you are entering your information on a secure site. Make sure you ignore or check out via phone call any financial based emails you get in your inbox – don’t click on any links or give your password out to anyone.
