5 Ways to Protect Your Identity While Moving

Don’t Let Your Move Be More Difficult Than it Already Is, Protect Your Identity While Moving

Due to the warm weather, and children typically being off of school, summer is the time most families decide to relocate.

There are some things to remember to protect your identity while moving:

1. Be careful with your electronic information.

   Moving is a time when people regularly throw away or donate old or unneeded objects. If you decide that you want to get rid of anything that might have some personal information stored on it you should first either destroy the hard drive, or be careful to totally erase it. You don’t want any leftover information getting into the wrong hands.

2. Choose a reputable moving company to handle your move.

   There are a lot of options for getting your things moved between locations. Cost is a very big factor for a lot of people, but sometimes paying more for the service also includes the peace of mind that you want to make sure your mover is doing everything in your best interest. The US Department of Transportation has a nice list of things to remember when choosing a mover. There are also a number of services such as Angie’s List, and MoverReviews.com that you can do homework before deciding on who to use.

3. Secure your safe documents in a place where the movers do not have access to them, and you also reduce the risk of them being lost or misplaced.

   Everyone misplaces or loses things while moving. Some kitchenware, or old clothes aren’t a big deal, but tax records, or financial documents are. You also don’t want to leave them somewhere that your movers have access to them. Make sure you secure them in a lockable storage container, or even transport them yourself, to make sure they are safe.

4. Shred whatever documents you aren’t planning on taking with you.

   Sometimes while moving you come across old information that you might not need to keep, but still contains valuable information. Don’t just throw this out. Dumpster diving is a common way for criminals to get ahold of people’s sensitive information. Destroying your documents by shredding them is the very best way to go. You get rid of your old information, and can be sure that it is thoroughly destroyed.

5. Make sure you’re careful about forwarding your mail.

   Stolen mail is also on the list of top things that criminals use to get people’s information. Make sure before you move that you keep your new address updated with the USPS. Another thing to make sure you do is change your address with any subscription services, utilities, or bills you currently are paying. You don’t want your credit information to be delivered to the wrong house.

These are some of the important ways you can keep your family safe from identity theft during such a stressful time. A bit of careful planning, and foresight can reduce the chances of being victimized, and let you focus on other matters.

Remember, we are experts in the field of shredding services, and hard drive destruction, so you can contact us with any questions or needs when moving.