10 ways to protect yourself from identity theft

Millions of americans fall victims to identity theft annually. This is the fastest growing crime in the US these days and you need to educate yourself on how you can protect yourself from id theft and prevent all the problems that arise from it. 

You can lock your identity with a service like lifelock to guarantee that you will not ever be a victim of id theft.

1. Don't give out personal information easily such as your birth date, or place of birth, mother's maiden name etc. These little details aren't thought about by most folks as being sensitive information but they are indeed.

2. Don't leave your mail unattended overnight or weekends. Your mail can be used to extract sensitive data that can be used to open credit accounts in your name without you being aware. This is especially dangerous if a thief has open access to your mail where they can have bills delivered to your address and intercept them before you receive them. Get a lock on your mailbox.

3. Make sure your computer is spyware and virus free before initiating any transactions online with it. Spybot and Adaware are both free and work very well to remove common spyware and you can get free antivirus software from AVG.

4. Shred your trash that has your name and any other information on it. Bank statements, tax forms, canceled checks, bills and more can be used against you. Shred it all when you are done with them.

5. Opt out of pre approved credit offers by calling 1-888-5OPT-OUT. This will drastically reduce the amount of junk mail you receive as well as a bonus.

6. Check your credit report at least annually. You can obtain a copy of your credit report from each bureau below:

Equifax — 1-800-525-6285
Experian — 1-888-397-3742
TransUnion — 1-800-680-7289

7. Make sure your checks don't have sensitive information on them like your social security number or birth date. Some people actually have this information on their checks.

8. Make sure your resume does not have this information on it either. If you send your resume to 50 prospective employers with all of this information on it there is no telling how many people would have easy access to your personal private information.

9. Use strong passwords when setting up any accounts online. Don't pick words or numbers that are easily guessed and don't use the same password for every online account that you have.

10. Never give any of your information to anyone who contacts you by phone. If they called you then you need to verify that they are indeed who they say they are. Be smart with your information and protect yourself from identity theft.

Lifelock protects your identity 24 hours a day