Many of us are unintentionally lax with our personal information. Being lax with a client’s information can have devastating consequences for any Virtual Assistant. By being aware of personal and business personal information leaks, you can be proactive in protecting both yourself as well as your clients.
On a personal level, remember the last time you went to the doctor’s office and their new patient form asked for your social security number? Many people will fill in that information simply because it was asked of them. The doctor’s office isn’t paying you a salary or contributing employee taxes from your earnings. This is gratuitous information and they simply do not need it. One of my pet peeve’s about giving out my personal information is having a clerk at Lowe’s ask me for my phone number. They don’t need that information and I consistently refuse to give it to them. Or how about when the cable company asks for your social security number? They can look up your information by your phone number.
Let’s be proactive and guard our personal information.
- Clean out your wallet. Get out all the identification cards you don’t need to carry like your social security card, birth certificate, passport and other sensitive documents. NEVER carry your social security card with you. I am constantly amazed by people who will not memorize their SS number.
- Make sure your social security number isn’t on your driver’s license or insurance card.
- Do not have your home address tags on your keychain. If you lose your keys, a potential thief now knows exactly where you live.
- Create a secure place for all your credit card numbers, bank accounts, PINS and long-distance calling cards. We recommend a password protected excel spread sheet on your computer.
- Use complex passwords. Always avoid using passwords with easy to figure out info like your address, phone, birth date or pet’s name.
- Write “Ask for Photo ID” near the signature line of your credit cards and insist the store ask for that ID when you present them with your card.
- Protect your computer and financial passwords. Don’t put them on your Palm Pilot or cell phone.
- Buy a shredder. USE IT. A lot!
- Get your free annual credit report and check for anything suspicious.
- Consider how you hold legal title to property, cars, investment accounts and such. Move them into a living trust (with a complex name) or investments into a Family Limited Partnership that you control.
As a Virtual Assistant, I ALWAYS recommend that my clients protect themselves with LifeLock, the most advanced Identify Theft Protection system available. Lifelock is the only advanced Identity Theft Protection system available. We use it for personally and highly recommend it. Lifelock is only $10 per month, or $110 per year per adult. They even protect children and students.
So if you haven’t already, get busy and protect your personal information and your client’s information. Be safe!
