If you’ve ever had your personal information—like your name, birthdate, or Social Security number—stolen, you’re not alone.
In 2018, 14.4 million people were affected by identity fraud. It typically occurs when someone uses your personal information to open new accounts, purchase something, or get a tax refund.
The good news? By adopting a few smart strategies, you can reduce your chances of experiencing identify theft and keep your personal data protected.
1. Make Your Information Hard to Obtain

If you’re not using a password manager, you’ll want to:
- use a different password for each account.
- devise passwords with a mix of at least eight characters, numbers, and symbols such as “$,” “@,” “^,” and “(”.
- store them in a safe place only you can access.
- change them periodically, and especially if a company or vendor you use has experienced a breach.
- use two-factor authentication, which requires your log-in credentials plus a unique, time-sensitive code sent to your mobile device to complete the log-in process.
2. Limit the Amount of Personal Data Out There
When using social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, think twice before sharing certain kinds of information—even if these sites have verified security measures in place that protect your data.
This includes your birthday, hometown, phone number, or even your pet’s name. All of these are things that identity thieves may use as answers to your security questions. This also applies to message boards and email.

Other smart rules to live by:
- Make sure the privacy settings on your social media accounts limit who can see your information—including, but not limited to birthdate, workplace, and photos.
- Examine your friends or connections lists for people you may not know.
3. Protect Paper Documents
Everything from account statements thrown in the trash to mail stolen from your postbox can provide a wealth of information to identity thieves.

Safeguard your information by:
- securing your mailbox, and having mail held at the post office when you are not home.
- storing documents with sensitive personal data—like tax returns and bank statements—in a safe.
- stopping preapproved credit offers that come in the mail. To opt out, call 1.888.5.OPT.OUT (1.888.567.8688) or visit www.optoutprescreen.com.
- investing in a shredder to destroy credit card statements, receipts, offers, and expired credit cards.
4. Monitor Your Accounts
Another way to protect yourself against identity theft is to regularly review your personal accounts for discrepancies or red flags.

These include:
- your health insurance. Review your history to make sure the services and prescription drugs included are ones you received.
- store them in a safe place only you can access.
- your bank statements. Check all spending and payments, as well as ATM withdrawals.
- your credit. You are legally entitled to a free yearly report from the three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Request one from each every four months, either directly through each agency, or at annualcreditreport.com. Look for strange activity and accounts or credit cards you didn’t open.
5. Stay Ahead of Scams
Identity thieves also use phishing to access your information. This scheme uses fake online ads from real banks or businesses that prompt you to input your information, which is then used to access your accounts.

You can protect yourself by:
- verifying that you are on a familiar website with proper security controls before you input personal information.
- sharing your Social Security number only when necessary, and asking first why it is being requested.
- not clicking on email links from what appears to be your bank; call your bank directly to see if the email (or call) is legitimate.
- corresponding directly with businesses, banks, or institutions you are familiar with.
With a proactive approach, you can stay ahead of—and minimize—your risk.
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