By managing your personal information carefully and sensibly, you can help guard against identity theft. TrueCredit recommends a few simple precautions to keep your personal information safe.
Do not carry extra credit cards, your Social Security card, birth certificate or passport with you unless needed.
When you order new checks, do not have them sent to your home. Pick them up at the bank instead. If stolen, your checks can be altered and cashed by identity thieves.
Only give out personal information over the phone if you initiated the call. Identity thieves may call, posing as banks or government agencies.
Shred your receipts, credit card offers, bank statements, returned checks and sensitive information before throwing it away.
Check with your employer, landlord and others who can access to your personal data to be sure that they are keeping your records safe.
Make sure your credit reports are accurate and sign up for a credit monitoring service to be alerted to changes by email.
Protect your Social Security number with extra care. Don't have your Social Security number printed on your checks.
Follow your billing cycles closely. A missing credit card bill could mean an identity thief has changed your billing address.
File away a list of all your account numbers--with expiration dates and telephone numbers. If your wallet is stolen, you will be able to quickly alert your creditors.
When creating passwords or PIN numbers, use a random mix of letters and numbers. Do not use information that may be easily discovered by identity thieves.
