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This is part of our Financial Literacy Month Question and Answer series

Question: I’m hearing more and more about Identity Theft. What can I do to protect myself and my family? ~ Sarah

Answer: Hi Sarah, that’s a good question. While nothing can protect you 100%, there are a number of steps you can take to protect yourself. Here are a few:

• Protect your Social Security Number
  - Don’t carry your it with you (or your children’s)
  - Don’t have it printed on your checks and don’t write it on yourself
  - Don’t write it on forms just because they ask for it, including job applications.
  - Don’t let your employer or health insurer use it as an identification number.
• Take care with your mail
  - Get a lockable mailbox and take all outgoing mail to the post office
  - Notice if you don’t get mail for a day or two
  - Put your mail on hold at the post office if you go on vacation
  - Stop getting credit card offers (see previous blog post)
• Lock down private information
  - Don’t leave bills, bank statements, checkbooks or credit cards laying around your house for visitors to see to pick up.
  - Password protect files on your computer like tax returns, financial spreadsheets and money management software like Quicken or MS Money.
  - Clear your car of paycheck stubs, receipts and other financial records
  - Shred bills, old checks and bank statements, especially credit card offers
• Protect your passwords
  - Change them at least twice a year
  - Don’t use something common like your address, phone number birthday, anniversary or children’s info
  - Use a combination of numbers, letters and symbols if possible. Even capitalizing one of the letters in the middle of your password can help
• Check your Credit Reports
  - Get your free copies at http://www.annualcreditreport.com/. There are 3 reports so you can order one every 4 months
  - Review Credit Reports for errors
  - Correct false entries
  - Check your children’s reports, too
• Review all incoming bills and statements
  - Verify that all charges are really yours
  - Contact the bank or credit card company if you don’t receive your statement on time
  - Change your statements to come by email and save a tree, too
• Avoid public computers
  - Don’t check your bank balance
  - Don’t logon on to financial websites that require your password

Remember, it’s often someone you know or even a family member who makes you a victim of Identity Theft.

Warmly, Cindy Morus