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- Never carry your Social Security card in your wallet. This is considered the gateway to your identity. Leave it locked away at home or in a safe deposit box until you need it to conduct business.
- Check other cards that you normally carry in your wallet, as some of them may contain your SS number, too. Examples are your Medicare card, insurance cards, or even driver's licenses.
- Put as little information as you can on your checks. Never put your Social Security number, and use a Post Office Box instead of a physical address if possible.
- Mailing bills from a United States Post Office location or box is safer than putting them out for the mailman at home. Identity thieves cruise neighborhoods looking for outgoing mail, knowing they are likely to find outgoing bill payments containing account numbers and other personal information.
- Do not have your new checks mailed to your home. Send them to your bank, instead. Identity thieves think they've hit the jackpot when they find a box of checks in a mailbox.
- Keeping charge receipts in your car is asking for trouble. Identity thieves would much rather have your personal account information than your car stereo.
- Photocopy both sides of all credit cards and keep this information in a safe place. If you lose your wallet, you'll have the account numbers and phone numbers at your fingertips.
- Protect yourself against loss by removing any card from your wallet that you don't use on a daily basis. This way, if you have a theft, you won't have to notify as many entities.
- Report lost or stolen cards the moment you realize you are not in possession of the card. This will limit your liability.
- Review your bills and bank statements promptly. If you find any charges or debits that you never made, contact the bank or company immediately.
- Monitor your accounts online frequently. You can discover problems more quickly than if you wait for bills or statements to come in the mail.
- Secure personal information in your home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help, or are having service work done in your home.
- Ask about information security procedures at your place of work. Find out who has access to your personal information, and verify that your records are kept in a secure location. Ask about the disposal procedures for those records as well.
- Keep private information to yourself. Never provide personal information over the phone unless you initiated the call. Remember, identity thieves are skilled professional liars, trained to sound legitimate and sincere.
- Shred everything. Don't assume that simply because you put an item in the trash, no one will see it. That person you see dumpster diving could very well be an identity thief. Unless you want them to have your private information, shred, shred, shred.
- Consider a credit monitoring service. Such services watch your credit bureau activity, and alert you if someone tries to open an account in your name, attempt to change the mailing address for statements, and other such activities that could signal identity theft.
- Check your credit reports regularly. Credit reports can be obtained free of charge from each of the three major credit bureaus every 12 months by going to www.annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228 or mail your request to Annual Credit Report Request, PO Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. Your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth will be required. Staggering your requests among bureaus allows you to keep an eye on activity year-round.
- Be safe online. Never click on links sent in unsolicited emails; instead, type in a web address you know. Use firewalls, anti-spyware, and anti-virus software to protect your home computer; keep them up-to-date. Visit OnGuardOnline.gov for more information.
- Don't use an obvious password like your birth date, your mother's maiden name, or the last four digits of your Social Security number.
- Calls or letters about overdue accounts you don't recognize could indicate identity theft. If you are contacted by a creditor, ask for documentation about the debt; if by a collection agency, explain that you dispute the bill and why (put it writing to maintain your debt collection rights under federal law) and ask how to contact the creditor so you can investigate.
- Don’t use your debit card at the gas pump. Thieves can use a technique called skimming to steal your PIN number and then pull cash from your bank account. Using a credit card is safer.
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