Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

Identity theft has become a scary phrase, and it can do some serious damage to a victim’s life. Here are some ways you can protect yourself and make sure it doesn’t happen to you! To learn more about identity theft protection, visit my Identity Theft Protection Blog.

1. Shred. Shred. Shred. A small shredder costs about $8, a small investment to make in your peace of mind. Shred everything with your information on it. This includes junk mail and the deposit slips you don’t use.
2. Try not to leave your mail out in the open. If you have your mail delivered to your house, and you will not be there immediately to pick it up, you need to make other arrangements, so that your mail is not sitting there unprotected. Similarly, do not pay bills and leave those envelopes in your mailbox to be picked up. It is much safer to take them to the post office yourself.
3. Avoid third party ATMs. This is easier said than done, and it takes some planning ahead, but try to avoid ATMs in places like bars, airports, malls, etc. Try to stick with ATMs at the bank.
4. Get yourself a monster password. People used to advise us, “Choose a password that will be easy for you to remember.” Not anymore. Now you need to choose a password with capital letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
5. Don’t use the same password for everything. If you are active in chat rooms, forums, and social media sites, use different passwords for them than you do for your bank and your credit card accounts. If you are really active on a social media site for golfers, that site might not be as secure as you think it is. If someone steals your password from such a site, you don’t want that to also be your PayPal password.
6. Try not to let your credit or debit card out of your sight. This one can make you feel and look a little paranoid, but it is worth it! If you are dining at a fine restaurant, don’t let your server take your card into another room to run it. If you have to, pay with cash.
7. You are entitled to a free credit report every year. Be sure to get it and examine it closely!
8. Examine your credit card statements and bank statements closely. Be sure that you can account for every transaction you see. If you don’t remember making a purchase or transfer, maybe that’s because someone else did it.
9. Be very protective of your social security number. If someone asks you for it, ask yourself if this company really needs it. Don’t carry your social security card around with you, and don’t write the number on your checks, even if a merchant asks you to.
10. Remember, when it comes to preventing identity theft, it literally pays to be paranoid!

Robin Merrill is one of the few freelance writers in Maine braving the cold and snow.