Preventive Measures

Changing Your Daily Routines: Going Out

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Here are some security measures you should always follow when going out shopping or anywhere that requires you to hand out personal information. Whenever you sign a credit card slip, avoid writing down your address, telephone number, or driver’s license number on it.

Also make sure to take your receipts with you to shred at home because “dumpster diving” is very common at large retail areas, such as malls and restaurants. This will greatly help minimize how much personal information about you is floating around in public.

Be particularly cautious of giving out your social security number. Few institutions — like businesses granting you credit, employers filling out tax forms for you, or government agencies — have any reason to know your social security number or use it. On the other hand, a business may refuse to serve you if you do not give them the information that they request. It is then up to you if you still want to do business with the establishment.

Security Tip:

Another way that identity thieves grab information is by simply stealing the content of mailboxes. You can use a high security lock mailbox to prevent theft of mail sent to you. Also, consider dropping off your mail inside the post office whenever you send out bills to ensure mail is not intercepted. Thieves will even steal checks sent out by consumers and use chemical washes to remove ink. If you are planning to be away from home and cannot pick up your mail, call the post office to request a vacation hold on your mail, which you can pick-up afterwards.