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Can you imagine someone breaking into your home and stealing your most prized possessions? Unlike self imposed financial trouble such as a gambling addiction, for which you can get help here, the thought of having someone get into what you thought was your impenetrable fortress is disturbing to the core of your bones. And you will most likely experience the bitter taste of not being able to feel safe again in your own home for a long time. But having your valuable electronics, jewelry, clothes, or papers stolen from you is a whole different story. The stress of having to file for insurance claims and wait for a few weeks or months until you will receive the money or part of it – to buy a new laptop will not do you any good either. Not to mention if you have stored critical data and files on the laptop’s hardware – and there is no other way of recovering it, or preventing the thieves from potentially using it against you.
How Safe Is Your Financial Data At The Moment?
Do you use external storage devices or the hard-drive on your computer to keep your most important financial data stored? What about any copies? What would you do in case of a flood or an electrical problem that could potentially fry your computer and everything on it?
Not to mention the risk of having someone break into your computer and access all of your files from a remote distance, stealing or compromising them. It is also possible for someone to ask for a ransom in return of your precious and highly confidential data. Malware programs designed to steal financial data have seen a disturbing rise in the last few years. And no one likes to go through the hassle of having to replace their credit cards, especially after spending many years struggling to get a loan with a poor credit score.
What Can You Do?
- Be proactive. Assess everything from your mailing box to your home safe or drawers. Have all mail removed promptly and remember to put your mail on hold should you leave on vacation.
- Install locks on your mailing box for more security. Talk to a few locksmith services in town and have them provide you with a few quotes on their services to find out what kind of locks they work with, and what are their recommendations concerning your mailing boxes – and the rest of the locks on your home.
- Old, poor quality, worn-out, or obsolete locks on the front and back doors, including windows and garage doors should be immediately taken care of and have them replaced, re-keyed, or fixed by the hands of a talented lock technician for homes.
- Once your home becomes almost impossible to break into by even the most experienced of burglars, your financial data should be better protected.
- Have an alarm system installed, if you do not already have one. Opt for one that features movement sensors that will send alerts on your phone in case someone does break into your home.
- Have sensors installed on the attic and garage doors as well, as you never know where an opportunist thief might decide to make a hit.
- Shred all sensitive documents before throwing them into the trash bin.
- Never carry your social security number and other similar financial papers on you.
With these 8 tips you can sleep well at night knowing you are protected from thieves both in real life and online.
