How do I protect myself from identity theft?

One of the most disturbing ramifications of our increasingly digital world is that we are all becoming more susceptible to identity theft, even if we ourselves do absolutely everything we should to protect our own personal information and bank / personal financial data.

What kind of stuff do they look for? Thieves use dumpster digging, phishing, and pharming to obtain your information. Things they steal from your trash include:

- Pre-approved credit card offers: they complete them and have the card sent to them at a different address
- Loan applications- they complete the application and have the money sent to a phony address.
- Bank statements- they then have your bank account number and can print counterfeit checks

People that are more at risk are senior citizens, people with disabilities and immigrants, but remember that everyone, including children are at risk. Senior citizens are home all day; they might get a phone call from a fake charity asking for money. Immigrants are desperate for credit, they may have just arrived in the US and know they need credit to do anything and are not aware of these scams. People with disabilities are home, and may become a victim of phone or online fraud. There have also been cases of home care providers taking advantage of their clients.

The preceding is excerpted from the article Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft at the Ask Dave Taylor sister website Real Life Debt Blog. Please pop over there to read the rest of the article!