Personal Information Security

Got PIS?  There are lots of subjects that would fit this title, but lately several events have led me to this post about personal financial awareness.

• One was getting duped by a fraudulent web site into buying an electronic item before doing research to ensure the site was trustworthy.
• The second was deciding to get a credit monitoring service, which has already been worth the $100 a year.
• Third was finally getting MS Money to sync with my bank accounts automatically every day, and still pay bills through the bank’s bill pay service inside of Money’s interface… which got me thinking about the sheer number of transactions a family has in a single week… Realizing that if a fraudulent charge went through the typical persons account, it could easily be days or weeks before they notice it (if ever) due to the volume of bank transactions in a month and the complexity of keeping aware of everything that is coming in and out.
• And lastly, this news on more fallout from the Citibank PIN scandal.

These events lead me to think I’ve been way too relaxed about my financial awareness.  When you live in a metro area (make a lot, spend a lot), have a dual-income account with your partner (more coming in and out every day), you’ve got to start using every service available to you for monitoring your credit history, your accounts, and your credit cards.  I’m thinking it’s no longer sufficient just to have ‘online access’ to your bank accounts and once-a-year credit reports.