Ways to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

1. Only give out your social security number when absolutely necessary. Do not print your social security number on your checks and do not allow businesses to write your social security number on your check. Beware of phone calls and/or email messages requesting your social security number.
   
   
2. Remember that thieves can pose as legitimate business. Never give out your social security number, credit card number, bank account number, or any other personal information over the phone unless you have a trusted relationship with that business and can verify that they are who they say they are. Never give out any personal information via email even if you have a trusted relationship with the business as email is not a secure method of delivery and can be intercepted.
   
   
3. When creating passwords and PIN numbers, use random, unidentifiable numbers. Never use the last four digits of your social security number, your mother's maiden name, your birth date, your phone number, your pet's name, your middle name, consecutive numbers, or anything else that could be easily discovered or guessed by thieves. When creating passwords, it's best to use a long sequence of random numbers and letters.
   
   
4. When paying with your credit card while shopping or when taking money out of an ATM, never throw away receipts in a public trash container. Instead bring them home and shred them.
   
   
5. Never throw away credit card statements, cancelled checks, blank checks, bank statements, or any other bill or statement that contains personal information. Instead, buy a cheap cross-cutting shredder and shred all documents that could easily give personal information away to thieves. Remember, you have no way to track where your trash goes once it leaves your curb.
   
   
6. Do not carry extra credit cards, extra checks, your social security card, your birth certificate, or your passport with you unless it is absolutely necessary. If you were to lose your purse or wallet, a thief would immediately have access to all of your personal information.
   
   
7. Make photocopies of all credit cards (front and back), bank account numbers, investment account numbers and keep them in a safe place along with contact phone numbers for each institution, both customer service and fraud departments, so that you can quickly contact them should it become necessary.