I was recently a victim of Identify Theft. I had Microsoft Security Essentials installed on all of my computers and thought I was safe. I was NOT! I had my email account hacked, my Amazon account hacked, my credit card hacked, and my bank account hacked. Some of these were hacked several times after I changed my passwords. All of this happened in the time frame of about one week. My first thought was to upgrade my Internet Security. So I removed Microsoft Security Essentials and installed AVG Internet Security 9.0.
Next I changed my passwords again. Contacted the credit card company and got a new credit card. Contacted Amazon and after an investigation I got my account back and changed my password again. Contacted my bank and canceled the compromised checking account and got a new checking account.
The biggest headache was having to contact all of my direct debits and direct deposits to update my accounts for the new checking account. Many wanted a blank void check so I have to wait for some before I can update those accounts as I have not received my new checks yet. Hopefully I will get the new checks before my bills are due. These are my utility payments so as a last resort I can go down and pay the bill before they are due if my new checks don’t arrive in time.
I later saw a news story on my favorite TV News station here, Channel 4, and they were saying that the Bankers Association stated that many banking customers in our area were becoming victims of identify theft and having their banking accounts compromised. They highly recommend that you check your banking accounts every few days to make sure no unauthorized charges are added to your accounts. If you wait until your statement arrives then you may have more problems as the unauthorized charges could cause your banking account to be overdrawn. Now you have work to get the overdraft charges removed and not only from your bank but from the company that your wrote the check to which bounced. I was lucky in that I checked my banking account every day or two and I noticed the fraudulent charge right away.
I also recommend that you check your guest account on your computer to make sure that it is disabled, have a password setup on your computer login, lock your computer if you are going to be away from the computer any length of time and especially overnight if you leave your computer on at night. Also make sure your internet security program is updated daily as new threats are created daily! Be careful about what websites you visit and make sure they are safe.
Since installing AVG Internet Security 9.0 I have not been a victim of Identify Theft again. I highly recommend AVG Internet Security 9.0 because it protects you against all know threats including viruses, spyware, adware, worms, trojans, rootkits, and identify protection. It also has a toolbar for your browser that identifies safe websites and the not so safe websites. Plus they have a 3-pack license so I can install it on my home computer, my laptop, and my wife’s computer.
Check out AVG Internet Security 9.0 by clicking on the link or clicking on the banner on the right side of the page.
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