
We’ve met lots of great, honest people in our career selling used cars in St. Louis. But we’ve also met some sneaky people. And we’ve heard horror stories from honest customers who’ve been affected by unscrupulous people trying to make an easy buck.
And when it comes to bad credit car loans, identity theft is one of those ways that people can take a beating.
The truth is, anytime you share financial or private identification information, you put yourself at risk for identity theft. Most of the time nothing bad happens. There are security measures in place, and we’ve found that most people can be trusted. But in truth – there’s always a risk.
When applying for a bad credit car loan, here are the best things you can do to keep your identity safe.
Check websites for security. If you’re going to provide a credit card, social security number, or other financial information, make sure the website has up to date security measures. You can perform a simple check to see if a website has security measures installed. On the page that’s requesting your information, look at the web address. If it starts with the letters “https”, you can be reasonably sure it’s secure. If it only has the letters “http” at the front, you might want to keep your information to yourself. The “S” stands for secure.
Don’t Trust Emails from Strangers Email scams are all over the place. And no matter how good your spam filter is, some will get through. Best practice is to report anything that looks fishy to the IRS by forwarding the email tophishing@irs.gov. Never, ever send financial information by email. Even if it’s to someone you know.
Check your Bank Statements Online many banks allow you to check your account history online. If you do this every couple of days to look for charges you don’t recognize, you have a better chance of avoiding serious consequences of identity theft.