Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. While you can't entirely control whether you will become a victim, there are steps you can take to minimize your risks.

First, you should shred documents before you throw them away. Unshredded documents are perfect fodder for identity thieves. Shut down these dumpster divers by shredding documents that contain personal information.

Secondly, do not leave mail in your mailbox. Again, mail left in mailboxes makes easy picking for fraudsters. Do not invite these criminals to steal your identity—drop outgoing mail off in postal service mailboxes, and have a trusted neighbor retrieve your mail when you are gone or stop your mail delivery during the time period within which you will be away from your home. Consider having important items (e.g. checks, account statements) sent to a post office box.

Third, check your credit reports regularly. It has been said that the owner of the house does not know when the thief will come to rip him off, and similarly, you do not know when identity thieves might target you. Because you do not know this, you must remain vigilant, and check your credit reports regularly. If you have the misfortune of being victimized by an identity thief, you may not know this until you check your credit report. All the while Mr. Dumpster Diver may be putting your credit in the dumpster by opening accounts in your name which quickly become delinquent because he runs up a tab but doesn't pay it off. Why should he? He's stolen your identity knowing that the creditors will pursue you rather than him for the unpaid debt. Remember-if he steals your identity and opens an account in your name, the best and sometimes only way to detect this is by checking your credit reports.

Fourth, do not leave important documents in your vehicle. Cars are one of identity thieves’ favorite places to find checks and other documents with personal information on them. Don’t make an identity thief’s day—take these items out of your car.

Fifth, be very careful about giving out personal information via phone, mail, or Internet—make sure you know whom you are dealing with! You should only give out personal information if you are sure you know whom you're dealing with. Identity thieves may pose as representatives of banks, Internet service providers (ISPs) and even government agencies to get you to reveal identifying information. Before you share any personal information, confirm that you are dealing with a legitimate organization. Check an organization's website by typing its URL in the address line, rather than cutting and pasting it. Also make sure the URL that it takes you to matches the one they gave you. The text of a link can say anything. Where it takes you can be very different

Sixth, opt out of prescreened credit card offers. We all get credit card offers that offer us the world at 0% interest. If you have no use for these offers, put a stop to them. Call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567- 8688). Please note that you will be asked for your Social Security number in order for the credit bureaus to identify your file so that they can remove you from their lists and you still may receive some credit offers because some companies use different lists from the credit bureaus' lists.

Seventh, don’t leave personal information lying around your home. Do not put personal information in places where it can be readily stolen by a roommate, burglar, or rogue repairperson. Even if you don’t have a safe to store such material, try not to put it in an open or obvious place. If the identity thief can’t find it, he can’t steal it either.

Eighth, don’t carry around with you unnecessary identification, credit or debit cards. Take this opportunity to take out anything in your wallet that you don’t need.

Ninth, Pay attention to the bills, account statements, and credit card offers that you’ve received. If you stop receiving a bill or account statement that you normally receive every month, it may mean that the identity thieves have redirected your mail to them so that they can carefully glean your documents for any personal information that they might use. Another tip-off might be if you receive an actual credit card that you did not apply for.

Finally, don’t give out your social security number unless you absolutely have to. Businesses often collect personal information that they don’t need or use, meaning the only thing that can happen with that information is for it to be stolen by an identity thief. If you go to rent a vacuum cleaner and they ask for your social security number, suggest another form of identification and, if they insist, go somewhere else.

If you follow these tips you will be able to prevent your identity from thieves.

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by SolveYourProblem.com : 2007

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