With the rise of ID theft being a problem in our country, we thought we would talk about a few things that you could do when it comes to identity protection and keeping your personal information safe. Here is a list of best protection from identity theft tips you should be following in order to prevent ID theft.

• Do not carry your Social Security Card on your person. Keep it in a safe place at home (ie, in a home safe).
• Before throwing anything away, shred anything and everything that has any personal information on it. This includes anything with even your name and address on it. You can never be too safe.
• Purchase a mailbox that locks, or use a PO box at your local Post Office to receive your mail at. Mail theft is a leading way to steal your identity.
• Do not open any email attachment unless you are 100% sure that you know the source and are expecting an attachment from the source. You cannot be too careful!
• Do not fall victim to an online phishing scam. If you receive an official looking email from your bank, or other financial institution, never click on a link in the email. Always log directly onto the financial institutions site and look to see if they actually sent you the message.
• Never discuss any of your personal information in a public setting. Always be aware of your surrounding if/when you are talking about sensitive, personal information.
• Do not use your Social Security Number as an identifying number for any accounts. This is like handing your personal financial information to a identity theft on a silver platter.
• Check your credit reports at least annually. You are now able to receive a free annual credit report from all three credit agencies. Do it!
• Never give out any sensitive, personal information to someone that calls you. If you believe they are legitimate, ask for a number to call them back at. Any real company will have a number you can call back at, making sure they are legitimate.
• Use your common sense. If it doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t!
• Consider using a solution from one of the identity theft solution providers to help alert you of any issues regarding your identity.
• If you do become a victim of identity theft, use an identity theft alert to help prevent people from opening new credit in your name.

These are just some of the things that you can do to protect against identity theft. It isn’t hard to implement these simple suggestions, and they will help you not become a victim of identity theft.

To learn more about how you can protect your identity, read our reviews of identity theft companies.

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1. LifeLock Strikes Back to Defeat Identity Theft
2. Identity Theft Statistics
3. Individual Identity Theft Protection
4. Proposal for New Social Security Card May Reduce ID Theft
5. Anybody Can Become a Victim of Identity Theft