As we enter or continue our journeys of adulting, there are a few things we need to remember. You may be new to being the sole guardian of your personal records because your parent use to, or it may be nothing new to you. Either way, when it comes to these documents and how we share the information, there’s no room for error. It’s not always as easy as paying the small fee and ordering another birth certificate. Continue reading to find out a few things you should not be doing when it comes to your personal information and a wake-up call that I experienced.
So, the other day I was driving my mother to her appointment [How we got to this point] when the craziest thing happened. She’s all hysterical asking me, “did you see that?” I hadn’t seen it. We were running late, and I was focused on trying to drive as softly as I could over the raggedy parking lot. There was a man holding a courier envelope with my name across it in bold, black marker big as day. We both wear glasses so this is no exaggeration. Holding it upright, my name covered the full width of the envelope and majority of the length, and my name is only 5 letters. Now, it’s not like I just have such a common name so it was alarming. On top of that, the handwriting looked like my mother’s. Long story short, the car was thrown into reverse, and I got to the bottom of it. Upon closer examination of the folder, (don’t think about it too much lol) my name had a line drawn through it in pen, and the word “taxes” was written in pen beneath it.
I knew it wasn’t my folder because it wasn’t my handwriting on it, and I would NEVER label my folder in such a manner (we’ll discuss that later). My mother also stated that she had thrown some things out while cleaning up before her surgery but that she knew she would not have thrown anything away before going through it. So, we both knew that nothing with any personal information had gotten in the wrong hands. It was more so of a shock factor for the both of us; one that I had to check out a little further just to be on the safe side as I did. And no, the documents inside the folder did not belong to me.
The most disturbing thing about the whole situation was the fact that this man dug through the trash to get that envelope. The apartment has trash shoots that lead to the basement I believe because I’ve seen workers wheeling the trash out on that level. It’s not like my mother just throws trash or empties her trash cans down the shoot. She uses trash bags in her trash cans and throws the filled trash bags down the shoot. This is normal practice for most people. Meaning, not only did he dig through the trash, he had to open individual trash bags. We also spotted him with it in the parking lot of my mother’s building. All these clues lead to that conclusion of how he got the folder.
When I think of dumpster divers, I think of people who may do it for food. In this case, I guess the man needed a folder. Regardless of anyone’s reasoning for doing it, the fact is that it’s done. With that being said, you never know what anyone is looking for when they are going through trash, so it’s best that we follow safe practices when discarding our trash. Below I list a few tips for safely discarding items with your personal information on it.
Things You Should Not Do Regarding Your Personal Information:
1. Do not throw away items with any of your personal information on it
The safest way to discard of items containing personal information is to shred them. If you don’t own or have access to a shredder, de-identify personal information by marking over it with dark black marker.
2. Do not label folders specifically.
Now this is something I’ve always done for privacy reasons. I grew up with siblings, and I can’t act like I didn’t go through my older sister’s things sometimes lol. Because I went through her things, I knew there was a possibility she could go through mine. My theory is if someone is looking for something, don’t help them find it. I never label folders with what can be found inside of them. This is how I knew the envelope the man had in the parking lot was my mother’s and not mine. Now, this may seem a little backwards because that’s the point of folders; to be able to easily organize and locate information. Just try to do it in a more discreet manner. You don’t need to make up a whole coding system, but the vaguer the better. Think about it this way, if you lived in a house full of strangers, you wouldn’t label the drawer where you keep your money “Money Drawer.”
3. Do not make all of your passwords the same.
I know this makes it easier with all the passwords you have to remember, but once one password is found out, it’s highly likely it will be tried again for other accounts.
4. Do not enter personal information into non-secured websites. Sometimes you’re warned before your browser sends you to a page. Look for “https” in the web address. This means that the website you are entering is probably safe. The “S” stands for secure.
5. Do not leave mail or any documents with identifying information visible in your car.
When people are looking for something, anything possibly helpful will catch their eye. For example, someone who may be looking for loose cash might see a bank envelope and think “well let me check in there just in case,” or they may have been looking for a credit card, but settle on a document that has enough info in it to get them closer to obtaining the credit card info, thus deciding to look through your mail.
6. Do not enter payment information into nonsecure or payment systems you are not familiar with.
Use trusted and trackable payment systems. I always pay for products online using PayPal. You don’t have to have a PayPal account to make a payment using their system. You also don’t have to use money from a PayPal account when making a payment using their system. When you select PayPal for your method of payment it allows you to enter your credit/debit card information. Cash App is easy and convenient in that you don’t have to remember a password, but it’s not very customer service friendly. There is no number you can call with issues, and the only sure way to get refunded is through requesting one directly from the person you paid, but that is still contingent upon them agreeing and returning the funds.
7. Do not fall for scams.
Beware of scams. Emails offer many avenues for getting your personal information whether it’s an email from someone asking for money, a payment, or for you to login via a link listed in the email. I have seen emails from perpetrators of Apple and Netflix requesting information, offering membership, and informing of a payment due to obtain information. I meannnn I don’t even have a Netflix account soooo, lol I wasn’t falling for that one. Click on the name in the “from” section to see what comes up. You can determine the validity of an email from the email address. Also, beware of spelling errors in the body of the email and in the email address listed in the sender’s salutation, unnamed links or links titled “click here” in the email body, and emails wanting you to act quickly.
You would think that telephone scams are less likely to occur. My thought process is you wouldn’t give your personal information to a stranger you met in the street, so why would you give it to a stranger over the phone. I have had the same person call me two days in a row using the same name but representing two different companies, one of them being the IRS. He sounded exactly the same. I said, “Didn’t you call me yesterday with “so-and- so?” He hung up. If it’s a telephone call, ask for the company’s information and a call back number.
Now I will say, when you know your stuff is in tip top order, getting a call or voicemail stating something is wrong will make you think twice because you know nothing should be wrong and if it is, there’s an error. Your thought may be that your identity has been stolen. I didn’t think my identity was stolen, just that they were trying to scam me because I knew I didn’t have any problems with the IRS. Always remain calm, and do your own follow up. Make the call yourself.
Keep these tips in mind, and you will be doing your part in keeping your information safe.
***Check these posts out for more great tips for millennials:
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