It’s unfortunate that the majority of identity theft cases are committed by those that the victim actually knows, such as a so-called friend, relative, coworker, or neighbor. While it is easier to get this problem taken care of then it ever was before, it’s still better to try to stop identity theft before it happens rather than assuming you can just fix the problem after the fact. If your biggest threat is someone you know, then what can you do to stop identity theft in the first place? There are some things you can think about above and beyond shredding your personal paperwork before you throw it away.

For one thing, it may seem terrible to say that you need to learn some mistrust, but using discretion is a good idea. If you have a distant relative that’s going to be staying with you, put away your important papers, your checkbook, and anything like this. You can stop identity theft or the threat of it if you protect your information from strangers in this way. When you have a real estate open house or even just some friends over for dinner, put everything away. At work, don’t take your social security card, all your credit cards, and your checkbook as well. You probably don’t need them every day at the office, and you can stop identity theft if you leave those papers at home. If you work in a large office building with many different companies remember that sometimes strangers will just walk into such a building looking for open offices where they can easily get to purses, wallets, and so on. Implement an office policy where the door to your suite stays locked. Remind everyone to lock their desk drawers and keep an eye on their wallets when working. If the company has lockers because workers need to change clothes, remind your workers that they can stop identity theft by making sure their lock is secure even if they’re just taking a break or eating lunch nearby. Do the same for yourself; lock up your desk drawer and make sure your wallet is nearby at all times.

Checking your credit report is not going to stop identity theft but it can help you to stop the problem before it gets out of hand. By checking on changes in your credit report that shouldn’t be there you can stop the process before it gets too far out of hand. Be sure to work with your bank and credit card account holder if you need to; they can help you take steps to stop identity theft.

You can’t always guarantee that you’re going to be able to stop identity theft but it’s interesting how often people don’t think about locking up their desks at work and about putting their paperwork away when people are in the house. By using discretion at home and at work you may be able to stop identity theft before it happens.

If you’ve been the victim of identity theft, it may not be much of a comfort to know that you’re not alone. This is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world and it’s unfortunate that some people would rather steal your good credit and your own bank accounts rather than go out and get their own. So to whom should you report identity theft if you think it’s happened to you?

The first thing you want to do is report identity theft to the three major credit reporting bureaus there are – TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. Go over your credit report carefully with each of them and make a report about every mistake that’s on your credit history. It’s important to report identity theft to each of them and to review your record with each because one might have additional information that has been overlooked by another. If you report identity theft to each of them and get all the information you can about every incident on your record then you may actually be able to find out who is doing this to you. The date, time, and location of inappropriate transactions can be clues as to who it is that has stolen your identity.

You also need to report identity theft to your banks and credit unions, as well as to your credit card account holders and even your utility companies. You need to know if anyone has opened any other accounts under your name or has ordered additional credit cards for your established accounts. Your utility companies need to know because someone may have used your name and social security number to open a utility account of their own. It’s important to get all this information from them when you report identity theft and be sure that accounts are closed, cards are canceled, and so on. They also need to be on the alert in case someone tries to access your accounts in the future.

And of course you need to report identity theft to the police. Some people neglect to do this and figure that identity theft is just a private matter between themselves and the banks or credit bureaus, treating identity theft as just a mistake on their bills or accounts. But remember that identity theft is a crime, not a mistake. The police can and will investigate any and all cases of true identity theft and you may even need a copy of that police report to send to the credit bureaus and your banks in order to get charges dropped from your name. Additionally, when the police have a report of identity theft they can work with the banks and credit card holders to see if this person makes another charge on your card or uses your information again. This can lead them to the culprit.

It’s difficult to go through the process needed to report identity theft but it needs to be done and can protect you in the long run.

Would you believe that the rate of identity theft is actually decreasing? According to most statistics, the decrease may be marginal but it is going down. This is surprising to many who assume that identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world, but this was true for many years until the rate of identity theft seemed to taper off in the past year or so.

The reasons for this will of course be varied and there’s no way to pinpoint the one or many reasons as to why the rate of identity theft may be leveling off. Chances are it’s a combination of many things at once. But it is true that many more people are becoming aware of the risk of identity theft and may be taking steps to protect themselves personally.

When the rate of identity theft was on the upswing businesses, banks, and credit card companies stepped up to the plate and took steps to encrypt their websites and add more protections for their customers and clients. But obviously they couldn’t do everything, and people needed to take responsibility for their own actions as well. As they took more precautions, the rate of identity theft started to go down. As an example of this, it’s believed that about 70% of American households today practice shredding their documents and paperwork on a regular basis; this keeps information out of the hands of “dumpster divers,” or those who root around in trash looking for account numbers, passwords, and so on. No doubt the more that people do to protect themselves at home, the rate of identity theft will continue to go down.

Some have also mistakenly thought that there was a greater risk of identity theft online and have avoided using company’s websites to pay bills or check bank balances, whereas others did not realize the risk that still existed on the internet. As more people become educated about the internet and how it works, the rate of identity theft goes down. People realize that many websites are encrypted and that it’s more difficult to hack a computer database than it is to rip open an envelope and steal a check or credit card number. They are also becoming savvier to online scams, so the rate of identity theft on the internet is very small and getting smaller every year.

Hopefully as the years go by the rate of identity theft will continue to go down. Police are becoming more skilled in how to catch these people and laws are getting tougher against them. Banks and credit card companies will continue to improve their security. Of course none of this will help that rate of identity theft to go down if individuals don’t continue to take responsibility for their own protection. If you don’t yet shred, it’s time to start. Sign up for online bill paying and check your credit report often. Keep this up and hopefully you’ll never win up being a statistic.

Why is it important to protect yourself from identity theft? Quite frankly, you need to take steps to do this on your own because your banks and credit card companies do what they can to protect your information but they can’t do everything. It would also be a mistake to think that it just can’t happen to you, that you don’t have enough money in the bank or stellar credit that anyone would want to steal. No matter your situation you should do what you can to protect yourself from identity theft, and we can help.

The first thing you need to do to protect yourself from identity theft is to understand how identity theft occurs and how those thieves operate. There are many who still go “dumpster diving” or who pick through the trash on the curb and even in landfills in order to find important information they can use to take your identity. You may have heard many times over that shredding your personal paperwork is important in order to protect yourself from identity theft, and this cannot be emphasized enough. It’s surprising how many people think nothing of throwing away utility bills, credit card statements, bank statements, and everything else that an identity thief needs. And a personal shredder is probably less than twenty dollars at any local retailer! That’s a small price to pay to protect yourself from identity theft on a daily basis. And if shredding is too much of a daily inconvenience, just toss your mail and bills into a bin or box and then take care of this chore once a month or every other week. This way you won’t get overwhelmed and neglect this chore or wind up keeping too much paperwork in the house.

Using caution as to how much personal information and sensitive numbers you share with people is also important to protect yourself from identity theft. Unfortunately many people still write their driver’s license number on all their checks even though they don’t need to do that. Signing up for online bill pay can also help to protect yourself from identity theft so that you cut down on the amount of mail you receive and checks you need to write. The fewer people that have access to your bank account numbers, the better it is. Mail rarely gets stolen but it does happen. And if you write a paper check to pay bills then this means that a human being needs to enter this information into a computer to record the payment. The more humans your information comes into contact with, the greater the risk.

There is nothing that will absolutely guarantee that you can protect yourself from identity theft but the more steps you take to guard your identity, the less likely this will be to happen to you. Like a house with good locks, a guard dog, and an alarm system, you can take some simple steps to protect yourself from identity theft too.

Would you believe that the best weapon you can use for preventing identity theft costs less than twenty dollars, can easily fit into any room of your house, and only needs to be used once a month or so? If this has piqued your curiosity then you’re not alone. Preventing identity theft is a concern for many as this crime is one of the fastest growing in the world and can have far-reaching repercussions for its victims. Fixing it is not like filing a police report for a stolen car; when your identity is stolen this might mean years of work and communication with credit bureaus and banks and spending your own money to fix the problem. But there are many things that individuals can do when it comes to preventing identity theft and most of those things are simple and easy to follow and can be done by anyone.

But as for that handy weapon we’re talking about in preventing identity theft, you may already suspect that we’re referring to a simple household shredder. A small model is available at virtually any retail store and is very inexpensive. It’s also one of the best weapons or tools you can use when it comes to preventing identity theft. Since you probably have already heard this many times before, why are we talking about it now?

For one thing, as inexpensive as it is and as easy to use as it may be, some people still hesitate to use a shredder for preventing identity theft. They may be worried about shredding something they’ll need later or find that it’s too much of a hassle to shred their daily mail. If you find that are hesitant to use a shredder for preventing identity theft because you don’t want to destroy something you’ll need later, remember that this rarely happens. You only need a couple of month’s worth of utility bills; anything older can get destroyed. Your bank statements can be accessed online very easily, so once you get a paper statement and look it over, it can probably be shredded. While you want to keep your tax records and receipts for a good ten years, older ones can be destroyed. One of the best tools for preventing identity theft is getting rid of all these old papers but they should be shredded and not just thrown away.

And if the hassle of your everyday mail is keeping you from using a shredder in preventing identity theft, get a shoebox or small bin or just set aside a small bag where you can put your mail and bills and everything else that needs to be shredded. Once a month, pull out your shredder and feed everything through. This means that you don’t need to be tripping over your shredder every day and don’t need to take care of this chore on a daily basis either. When it comes to preventing identity theft, that hour or two you spend every month shredding your papers should be worth the protection it gives you!