It's a problem overlooked until recently - if your car is towed from an accident scene to a shop or even a junkyard, it contains a lot of personal information that someone less than honest would love to get his hands on. Your financial life could be more severely injured than you.

What's in your car right now? Have a look in your glove compartment, console, or under the seats. What could an identity thief use? A local news station went to a junkyard and found hundreds of bits of information, ranging from loan agreements, checkbooks, and credit cards, to a whole collection of personal documents, including medical records, tax records, even driver's licenses - right there in a dozen or so wrecked cars, ripe for the picking.

Local FBI identity theft specialists say that most of these could be turned into new credit accounts, or someone could tap your bank account for everything in it with just a few sets of numbers and family information. Your mother's maiden name, your SS number, and a wide variety of personal information including your property records, tax receipts, even old utility bills, could be used by a thief to set himself up as YOU.

How do you prevent this? First, clean everything out of your car that doesn't have to be there. OK, you're going to need your registration and proof of insurance, but everything else goes into your house where it can be secured. Next, secure your phone, iPad, Laptop, or any other source of personal data - including your credit and banking information that may be on them. ANYTHING that might be left behind in the event of a serious wreck where your car is towed needs to be secured, preferably by a family member.

The experts recommend you don't allow your car to be towed until you or someone you trust makes a sweep of the vehicle to remove any documents, including ownership papers, tax or insurance records, even grocery or fast food receipts, before it gets out of your control. A wrecked car is a gold mine of information for a thief who can do irreparable damage to your finances and credit in only a couple hours.

 

Good reminder. I never keep anything in the car besides registration/proof of insurance.

 

Do you ever valet park ??

 

do you ever go to a doctor?

I mean, the possibilities are endless. Who do you trust?

 

The doctor is going to raid your glove compartment? I'm not sure I understand what you are saying?

 

You give every bit of detail to the doctors office. Somebody from that office can very well do the same.

 

While that is true, I just don't think it's a fair comparison to liken patient files in a doctor's office to personal information in the glove compartment of your car in a junkyard or body shop yard, which is only as secure as the fencing around the yard.

 

Great reminder

 

I encourage everyone to "freeze" your credit at all three credit reporting agencies. It's easy and cheap if not free and makes it impossible for anyone to get credit in your name, ss number, etc. It doesn't affect your credit score, although you must "thaw" your freeze temporarily if you are applying for new credit, a loan or want to know your score. A minor inconvenience in my opinion.

 

^^^ I like that idea. I am paying LifeLock to monitor my credit, but I rarely open new accounts. I haven't looked into this option.
Do you have a recommended service for this?

 

I'm sure that several credit protection agencies would be happy to charge you higher convenience fees for this. But, go to the websites for Experian, Transition and Equifax will do it for about $10 each. They will send you a pass code to use when you wish to thaw your credit. http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles...it-freeze-faqs