By Carol Steve

As per the reports of 2011, the rate of identity theft has lowered in the country. The total number of identity theft cases in U.S. almost fell by 3 million in the year 2010 in comparison to the previous year. This has resulted in the total amount of money which was lost through identity theft dropped almost by $20 million from $56 billion which was lost in the year 2009. Identity theft’s a serious crime which may not seem much serious to you until it happens with you. If it happens with you, your life becomes full of frustrating days and weeks as you try your best to persuade the creditors and also the law enforcement officials that you have been a victim of identity theft.

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Avoiding identity theft

The different ways in which you can avoid identity theft are:

• Personal information – Avoid giving anyone your personal information unless you are confident about the person or the company you are going to deal with. In addition, avoid giving out your personal information like your bank account number in any email. No reputable business is going to ask you for such things. Avoid writing the Social Insurance Security Number and also your telephone number on any checks or your credit card receipts.

• Online information – Avoid disclosing your credit card number to any online vendor unless you find it to be in the encrypted format and you will also have to check whether or not the site is a secure one. Check with the name and address of the website carefully.

• Computer – In case you are going to sell off your computer, make sure that you have deleted all the documents and other information in regards to you and your family members from the hard drive. Even if you are sending your computer for repair, copy the information somewhere else and delete all from your computer. You will be able to reload it after it returns to you.

• Documents – If you are going to throw away any of the documents that has your name and address, remember to shred those. Things like the pre-approvals for the credit card ads are the easiest way for enabling the crooks to steal identity.

• Unused credit cards – Cancel the credit cards which have low credit history and the ones that you haven’t used in last 6 months. The unused credit card accounts are the prime target of the crooks.

• Credit report – It is important for you to check your credit report regularly, at least three to four times in a year. If you check your credit report you will be able to find any kind of fraudulent accounts or charges on the reports and take the necessary action.

• Social networks – Avoid sharing information on the social networks. The social networking sites like Facebook to are the easiest options for the identity thieves to steal your identity.

In addition to the above, you will also have to remember to try and monitor all of your bank and credit card accounts for more than once each month. As per reports, almost 48% of all of the reported cases of fraud and identity fraud were mainly caught by the consumers. So, it is really important for you keep a watch on your bank accounts. Other than that, you should also keep in mind to make your purse or your wallet carefully so that you do not lose your wallet. Losing purse is one of the main ways in which people fall prey to identity thefts. So, wherever you go remember to never keep the purse away from you. In addition, also try to guard your cell phone as it can also contain your personal information.

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