Getting Married? 3 Tips for Helping Protect Your Identity

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HandsPhoto by Corey Ann

This post was generously underwritten by Lifelock for covering stories about helping protect yourself from identity theft. As always my comments and opinions are my own.

Wedding Season

Before the I-do’s, brides and grooms have lots of to-do’s. Flowers, music, catering, dresses, suits and a million other details. The last thing they’re thinking about is taking steps to protect their property or their identities.

Let me tell you two brief stories from both my own personal experience and from my cousin’s personal experience about the need to protect property.

My story is simple: Someone stole a gift from my wedding reception. I know! Can you believe it?

The second story is my cousin's story and is much more serious. In her case, all the wedding presents were at her parents’ home while they went on their honeymoon. While away, someone drove up to her parents’ house, rang the doorbell and said, “the bride asked us to come pick up the presents and take them to their house.” The young person who opened the door let the crooks in at which point they proceeded to transfer the gifts into their vehicle never to be seen again. The gall of some people, right?

This is just a reminder to us all to be stay alert and aware (or during a wedding delegate the job to a trusted person) even during life’s big moments.

To help the betrothed help themselves to protect both their identities and their property during this wonderful time of their lives, here are three simple tips to consider:

Credit Card

That credit card is probably getting a workout, and likely in places it doesn’t normally visit. Things can get a little crazy as the big day approaches, which can cause some of us to do desperate things we might not normally do when our heads are more level. You know, things like purchasing stuff online at the last minute without taking steps to make sure the site is legitimate. Read more tips here about purchasing things online.  Also be sure to monitor your credit card account closely.

Mail Forwarding

If the two of you are moving into a new place together, make sure you both take the time to forward your mail. Likewise, if one of you is moving in with the other. If there is going to be a name change, make sure to forward both your old name and your new name.

Moving to New Home/Apartment

When moving to a new place, make sure your personal papers and financial information stay secure both while you are packing things up and while you are unpacking. We might keep our private non-public personal and financial information locked up like it's Fort Knox normally, but for some reason when we are moving, we may leave everything in piles all over the house for everyone to see. Have a plan ahead of time for how you will keep private information private during your entire move. Click here for 5 tips for helping protect yourself while buying a home and here for even more tips while buying a home and moving.

Bonus Tip:

Pre-Honeymoon

Think first before posting all your honeymoon plans on Facebook. Consider waiting to share all those amazing sunset photos for when you get back. Even if every one of your facebook friends is 100 percent trustworthy, it's hard to know who is looking over all their shoulders.

Extra Bonus Tip:

Honeymoon

Please consider reviewing my  7 tips for traveling during the holidays which apply very well to a honeymoon, too.

If you’d like to keep up with more tips on how to help protect yourself and your identity, check out the great folks at LifeLock, they’re the ones who relentlessly help protect identities every day. Get great information delivered to your streams by following them on Google+, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (@LifeLock).

Congratulations and Best Wishes,

 

 

Silvia Martinez
Latest posts by Silvia Martinez (see all)

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