You now have taken some steps in becoming more knowledgeable about identity theft. You have
learned not to mail financial data in the mail using the red flag and how avoid identity thieves
who use the telephone to get your information.

There are some easy steps you can now take at home, which can eliminate your accidental release of
personal information from your home.

Common Mistake: Not keeping your personal information safe at home.

Your personal information that identity thieves is found on many documents you might have at home
and you can unknowingly give it away. Your personal information is found on bank statements,
utility bills, pay stubs, cellular telephone bills, receipts you get from the pharmacy, and many
other documents.

The problem is that most of these documents (if not all) eventually find their way to the trash.
Why is that a problem? Identity thieves know this information can be in the trash, so they are
getting good and what is known in law enforcement as “dumpster diving.” The identity thieves
actually go through your trash and find gold mines of information they can use to steal your
money.

You might have heard the suggestion to purchase a shredder and dispose of your sensitive
information with the shredder. This is great advice! But, take the extra step and make sure to
purchase a cross-cut shredder. Why? I have spent countless hours going through documents taken
during a search warrant from identity theft cases. I found in many instances where identity
thieves spent time and taped documents that were shredded with a single-cut shreddings back
together.

A lot of the criminals who commit identity theft do so in order to support a drug habit, usually
methamphetamines. One of the side effects of the use of methamphetamines is the inability to
sleep, so these identity thieves have a lot of time on their hand and use this time to tape your
single-cut shreddings back together.

Tip – Copy the front and back of all the credit cards in your wallet/purse and leave them in a
safe place at home. Why? In case you have your credit cards stolen, the telephone number to
call happens to be on the back of the credit card that was just stolen.

Tip – Keep your social security card at home. There is no need to have it in your wallet or
purse because there are not many situations where you need to show your social security card.
So, if you can memorize your social security number, this eliminates the possibility of identity
thieves getting your social security number if they steal your purse/wallet.

Tip – When going to the airport, put your registration, insurance card and other documents in a
safe place. You might even want to take them with you. Identity thieves break into cars at the
airport parking lots, find the registration, and go to your house and burglarize it while you are
gone. Also, if you leave your garage door opener in your vehicle, they will not have to “break
in.”

In future articles, we will cover topics like…

Other Common Mistakes like, (1) how the telephone is used for Identity Theft…and how to avoid
those pesky telemarketers, (2) simple steps to decrease your exposure of Identity Theft, (3) how
your information is stolen, and much more!!

Patrick Maroney Wants To Give You A Free Mini-Course On How To Prevent Identity Theft [http://www.stopidentitytheftideas.com].

Author: Patrick Maroney
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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