On average, over 20,000 people every day fall victim to identity fraud. Will you be next? How can you be sure that it won’t happen to you tomorrow, or even today? Are you sure it hasn’t happened to you yet? Identity protection is a practice that each and every one of us should make a habit. It is not hard to practice identity protection, but it does take a conscious effort. Your identity won’t protect itself.

Credit Report

The first thing you should do to involve yourself in identity protection is to check your credit reports. There are three major credit agencies that monitor your credit and keep an extensive report on you so that when you apply for credit through a bank or other agency they are able to determine whether you are a good credit risk. Bad marks on your credit report can keep you from getting a home or apartment, a car or major appliance, a loan or even a job. Identity protection is increasingly important as more and more people check your credit history.

Mail

Many identity thieves obtain your personal information from your mailbox. Don’t let your mail sit in the mailbox for too long. If you cannot remove it every day because you are not home to do so, ask a trusted family member, friend or neighbor to collect your mail for you. If this is not possible, consider a door slot mailbox where your mail is deposited directly into your home, or a locking mailbox, or even renting a post office box and forward all of your mail to it. Your identity protection can be as easy as getting your mail.

Credit and Debit Cards

Identity protection means keeping your identity out of the hands of thieves. When you are out on the town, whether at a restaurant, bar, or at the flea market, take cash. Handing your credit card to servers, bartenders, and merchants is potentially handing your card number to someone who can use it later. Many people fear carrying cash because they have no recourse if it gets lost. In the name of identity protection, wouldn’t you rather lose a little cash than your life savings or more?

On the phone or internet

Identity protection is an absolute must when you receive a telephone call or an e-mail from somebody who asks for your personal information for any reason. Always ask for a toll free telephone number to their company, then hang up and call that number and ask them to send you something in the mail. This will not only give you time to consider their offer, but time to check their legitimacy with the Better Business Bureau. Identity protection only works if you protect your identity no matter how good the offer sounds.

Remember, you could be next - don’t procrastinate. Identity protection cannot be put off until tomorrow.

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I want to give you some facts about identity theft. Nine million people have their identities stolen every year, as estimated by the FTC. Take a moment and let that number sink in. Nine million is a very large number. Think it can’t happen to you? Think again. It is quite likely that you or someone you know has had their identity stolen in some form or another. If you are under the impression that you don’t have to worry about identity theft, then you are setting yourself up to be a victim.

I didn’t used to think about identity theft until it happened to me. Somebody took my debit card information and used it to gamble away my life savings. My husband and I lost over $10,000 in the mess after spending the money to try to rectify the situation. The worst part about identity theft for us was that the bank acted like they didn’t believe that it was somebody else who used my debit card. You see, it was up to me to prove that it wasn’t me who made the transactions because I still had the card and had used it in the past to play games on the internet. I also had used it during the time that the thief was using it and therefore the bank had to assume that it was me who was gambling away $500 at a time. You see, my identity was stolen several years ago, in 1999, and the banks and other agencies didn’t know that much about identity theft.

It was only a few months before my identity was stolen that Congress had passed the current laws about identity theft that made it a federal crime. Unfortunately, though, these laws have not been much of a deterrent for people who steal identities. Apparently it is very easy to do and, while more and more people are getting caught, many are not.

I’m not sure how somebody got my debit card information, but I do have a couple of theories. I often use my debit card to pay for purchases at restaurants. I blindly hand my card to my server and allow her to walk away with it. It is quite possible that she could have made an impression of the card and kept the number. I also use my debit card on the internet to make purchases. At the time, I didn’t know about identity theft and wasn’t on the lookout for the https at the beginning of the url, which ensures that the site is secure.

I didn’t know about identity theft and have been sorry for nine years. I’m not sure that I will every fully recover from my plight. If you don’t know about identity theft, take the time to educate yourself. It can happen to you.

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