Six Ways to Minimize Identity Theft Risk

As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This advice is certainly applicable to identity theft if you believe your personal identity has been compromised. Millions of unsuspecting, law-abiding citizens become ID theft victims each year. And, on the average, a victim will have to spend hundreds of hours clearing his or her name and straightening out personal and financial records.

Six Damage Control Actions

Although 100 percent ID theft prevention is practically impossible, people can reduce their risk by acting quickly if they know their identity has been compromised.

1. Place a fraud alert on your credit report. Contact one of the three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. A fraud alert will notify businesses to make sure to confirm your identity when actions are taken on your credit. A fraud alert remains in place up to seven years.
2. Place a security freeze on your credit report that will require a password or personal identification number (PIN) to gain access to a credit report. For a fee a security freeze can be placed on a credit report before ID theft occurs.
3. Monitor your credit score and accounts online to make sure no unauthorized charges are being made. Maintain strict security over any usernames and passwords you use for this activity. You may want to consider hiring an account monitoring company to watch over your accounts. Many offer multiple levels of protection and guarantee the security of your information.
4. Protect your social security number as you would the family jewels. Your social security number in the wrong hands has the potential for creating total social insecurity and financial ruin. Carry your social security card with you only when you know you will need to present it, as when applying for a job. Do not recite your social security number out loud where you can be heard, and never repeat it over a cell phone. Do not include the number in e-mail messages or provide it to anyone over the Internet. If you must write the number down, make sure the paper is shredded or otherwise destroyed.
5. Shred and stop preapproved credit card offers. Preapproved offers contain enough personal information for a skilled identity thief to obtain a credit card in your name. Offers received should be shredded in a cross-cut shredder. Dumpster-diving identity thieves have been known to retrieve and reconstruct applications that have been put through a straight-cut shredder. By following instructions on the offer paperwork, you can opt-out of receiving them altogether.
6. Pick up newly ordered checks from the bank rather than having them mailed. Blank checks provide a perfect foundation for identity thieves to drain your bank account.