List of Precautions for Identity Theft

Identity theft is one of the top criminal activities in the world. Despite warnings from the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft continues to grow in popularity among thieves due to the fact that people are all-to-often willing to give out their personal information to nearly anyone who calls or e-mails requesting it. Following is a basic list of precautions for identity theft protection.

1. Protect your Social Security Number (SSN). This is one of the most important things you can do to help prevent someone from stealing your identity. Your SSN is the key to nearly all of your personal information from your credit report to your banking information. Never carry your Social Security card in your wallet or purse and if your department of motor vehicles uses this number on your driver’s license, have them change it to an alternate number.

2. Be vigilant about your credit report. This report contains your SSN, account numbers, credit score and past and current employers. If you are in a situation where your credit report is used to secure a loan, rental or credit card, be sure to ask the enquiring entity to truncate or obliterate your SSN and that they shred your credit report as you watch.

3. Destroy all old credit and bank documents, as well as junk mail from credit card companies. The best way to do this is to run these documents through a crosscut shredder.

4. Require the three major credit bureaus to remove your name from their marketing lists. This will reduce the amount of junk mail for credit cards that you receive.

5. Never carry important identification documents or extra credit cards unless it’s absolutely necessary.

6. Cancel unused credit card accounts and lines of credit.

7. Memorize any PINs associated with banking cards or accounts. Never write these numbers down or place them in a wallet or purse where they can be stolen.

While this list of precautions for identity theft protection covers only the basics, it is a good starting point for safeguarding your personal information.