Identity theft : Florida top state in country for identity theft complaints

Identity theft : Florida top state in country for identity theft complaints

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – David Sanders is a victim of identity theft. He told us, “They had made a credit card with my number and name on it.” He says it didn’t take long for him to find out someone was using his identity and spending his money in another state. “I got an email that I had a charge from a Kohl’s in Dallas, Texas of all places, and I was right here in Delray Beach.”

According to the Federal Trade Commission, South Florida is number one on the list for identity theft complaints, which includes Palm Beach County. Port Saint Lucie ranks number 7.

Reggie Montgomery, a retired police officer, has advice on how to protect your identity.

“Make sure that their wallet does not get out of their sight, number one.” He says don’t give out your date of birth or social security number to someone over the phone.

“If you go into your doctor’s office, they don’t need your social security number. You see it on every form in every doctor’s office, they don’t need it. They have your insurance information,” said Montgomery.

When you throw out personal information in the garbage, such as credit cards or canceled checks, shred them.

He says the best shredder is the cross shredder, which makes the paper look like confetti.

Montgomery says “And when you throw the shredding out, put liquid on it so that nobody is going to go through it and try to put it back together.”

You can also protect yourself with the right mailbox. “Have a locking mailbox, make sure that nobody can get into your mailbox, that’s another way people get your information,” he said.

Legal Shred
235 Apollo Beach Blvd #507
Apollo Beach, FL 33572
813-445-7301