Protection against Identity Theft
The cornerstone of an identity protection plan is to make sure that only people who need your personal information receive it.
Recovering from Identity Theft is a difficult process, so prevention is highly recommended.
Tip 1: Ask why!
Every day we are asked for personal information - make sure you understand why someone needs this information before providing it. Next time you are buying something, and the clerk wants your name and address, ask why! There may be a good reason for it, such as warranty registration or applying for a rebate or special offer. On the other hand, this information might just be stored, and potentially stolen. If someone can't tell you why you should give out personal information, you can politely refuse.
The same goes for online requests for details. When signing up to a website, mailing list or other service, ask yourself why they need the information they do. A website may need to confirm your age to know that you are of legal age, but they certainly don't need your exact birthdate. A newsletter signup doesn't need your full name or address, really they only need your email address.
Tip 2: Watch what you say!
The criminals that are out to steal your identity are masters at piecing together informtion. A few unrelated comments can be put together to give someone a good idea of who you are. Before writing anything online, take a moment to think of who may see it. Leaving out details from blog entries, forum posts or emails that you forward can help.
For example, writing "Today I celebrated my 40th birthday" lets someone know your exact date of birth. Instead, try leaving it a little vague - "Last month, I celebrated a major birthday".
Tip 3: Shred it!
Credit card application forms, loan offers, statements and a thousand other pieces of mail that we get all have personal details on them. This is exactly what the criminals are looking for. A good quality shredder can stop them from stealing this information from you. Any paper we throw away with any personal information (even name and address) gets shredded before it goes for recycling. Most shredders now are also good for destroying expired or unused credit cards, even CD's can be made completely unreadable.