Your personal identity has as much worth as jewelry, valuables, or even cash in the bank. However, amidst the joy and excitement of a baby’s arrival, safeguarding personal and financial information might be the last thing on a new parent’s mind. Unfortunately, new parents are five times more likely to be the victims of identity theft and related crimes, according to new data.
“Digitally sharing (and oversharing) personal photos, using unsecured wi-fi, and the high amount sensitive paperwork and documentation that new parents must complete put them at a very high risk for identity breeches,” explains Hilary Schneider, president of LifeLock, a leader in identity theft protection services.
The good news is that it only takes a few simple, precautionary steps to protect yourself and your family. Because new parents are massive consumers, they must be wary of the sites they visit when shopping on-line, and be mindful of carefully sharing personal information when opening accounts, registering on websites and making purchases. Another suggested safeguard is to periodically pull a credit report for your child once they have received a social security number. Fraudulent social security numbers resulting in child identity theft often goes undetected.
“We cannot stop living our digital lives, but we must be aware that life’s milestones (like having a baby) include a lot of social media sharing of personal data and we must take simple, crucial steps to protect our identities,” says Jean Chatzky, personal finance expert and LifeLock educational adviser.
Identity theft is this country’s No.1 consumer complaint. Continually on the rise, and resulting in as much as $25 billion annual lost, it can take several months or years for a victim to resolve identity breeches and recover money. So take a few easy steps and protect yourself and your new baby!
