Protecting Your Brokerage Account From Identity Theft

By B.E. Conrad

When the first phishing and identity theft schemes hit the scene a number of years ago, online auction sites like eBay were among the first targets. As these criminals saw how easy it was to gather highly personal information in this manner, however, they quickly turned their sites to banks, both online and brick and mortar, and there has lately been a move to target brokerage firms as well.

The reasons for this move are easy to understand, at least from the criminal’s point of view. By targeting brokerage firms, these criminals hope to gain access to large amounts of money, and to the identities of those with excellent credit ratings and credit histories. The prevalence of phishing schemes and identity theft attempts puts those who hold brokerage accounts at risk, whether they access their accounts over the internet or not.

A Problem Online and Off

Many people are under the impression that they are only at risk for identity theft if they bank or access their brokerage accounts over the internet, but in fact clever thieves can gather a great deal of information about you simply by raiding your mailbox, or even your trash.

How you handle correspondence with your brokerage firm, therefore, can make all the difference in the world. For instance, instead of mailing sensitive mail to your brokerage firm from the mailbox outside your house, take it to the nearest mailbox, to the post office, or mail it from the office. The correspondence you send to your broker is likely to contain sensitive information, such as your account number, Social Security number and the like. This information can be very valuable to identity thieves, so keep it out of their hands.

Likewise the mail you throw away can be used to victimize you, so be sure to invest a couple of dollars into the purchase of a personal shredder. These shredders can often be purchased for only $20 or $30, and they can help protect you from identity thieves.

When it comes to online access to brokerage accounts, one of the best strategies is to use strong passwords that will be difficult to guess or to crack using software tools. Passwords that use a combination of upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, and special characters provide far more protection than number only or letter only passwords, so be sure to make your passwords as strong as possible.

Another important step all brokerage firm customers can take to protect themselves is to review a copy of their credit report at least once a year. When reviewing this credit report, be sure to pay careful attention to the section that shows recent inquiries against your credit file. It is here that the earliest information about possible identity theft will appear, so it is important to review this part of the report very carefully.

It is also important to be on the lookout for any accounts you do not recognize, as these accounts could have been opened by identity thieves. If you see any accounts you did not authorize, or any inquiries you did not approve, be sure to notify the credit reporting agency immediately. Getting an early warning of any attempted or successful identity theft can help to greatly reduce the damage done, and it can greatly reduce the time, effort and expense involved in recovering your good name. Protecting yourself from identity theft may not be easy, but it is too important to ignore.

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