subject: 10 Easy Ways To Foil Identity Thieves [print this page] These days the internet has made it pretty easy to learn just about anything about other people. Have you ever gotten information about others by doing an internet background check or a reverse phone lookup? Have you ever searched and found someone's unlisted or and cell phone number? If so, you have you may have realized that other people might be scouting out the same types of information on you. What can you can do to protect your privacy and identity?Here are some of the more common ways people have their identify stolen and what you can do to prevent it.Realize that your personal information is everywhere. Anytime you write a check or phone in a credit card order, the clerk handling the transaction now knows enough about you to do damage. It's stored on computers everywhere - at your bank, your drycleaners, your doctor's office, and your accountant, and I'm sure you can think of many more places.Guard all your credit cards, even the ones that have expired. Never just throw them away. Your account information can be stolen off the magnetic strips on your credit card. Cut it into several pieces and throw it away. Put only half in the trash at a time.Identity thieves can get all sorts of information out of garbage cans and recycle bins - old credit card statements, bank statements, sometimes your social security number! Shred anything with this level of information before it leave your house. If you don't have a shredder, consider getting one. It is an inexpensive step that will give you greater security.Phone solicitors and phishing emails can fool you into giving your identity information out. Phishing emails often pretend to be your bank or credit card and look very much like the real thing. If you have any doubt, forward it to your bank's scam alert department.Never respond by giving out information from an incoming call or email. If it really sounds like it is your bank wanting information, call them back at the number printed on your statement. Never give out your social security number, password or pin number to anyone who calls you.If you come home late in the evening and your mail has been setting in your mail box all day, thieves have had all day to help themselves to your bills, bank and credit card statements, boxes of new checks, new credit cards, and more. Consider getting a PO box. And don't put important outgoing mail in your mail box, especially if your box is at the street as it is in rural areas. Drop it off at the nearest mail box instead.Be careful with your old computers. Erase your hard drive before getting rid of an old computer. Of course you want to make sure your computer is protected by an antivirus software program like MacAfee. Delete all the data from your cell phone, too.Invest in an identity theft protection service. A good service will monitor your social security number, credit cards, bank accounts, public records, and provide ID theft insurance. The cost is a small price to pay for extra security and the peace of mind it will bring you.
