Every day, we conduct transactions that require us to give out our personal information.  We eat at restaurants and pay with a credit card.  We write a check to the grocery store.  We use our cell phones.  We apply for new credit.  We fill out surveys.  Just normal average everyday things…all requiring our personal information to be shared.  Each of these puts you at risk.

Identity thieves will stop at nothing to get your information:

• They steal your wallet, your purse, your mail
• They change your address with the post office in order to divert your mail
• They will go through your trash, looking for information
• They fraudulently obtain copies of your credit report
• They buy information from store employees
• They use information that you’ve shared on the internet

With your personal information, they can:

• Open new bank or credit card accounts, using just your name, social security number and date of birth
• Change your address with your bank or credit card companies in order to divert your mail to them.  Once they’re receiving your statements, they have even MORE information about you and can run up thousands of dollars in charges on your accounts with you being none the wiser.
• Set up utilities (phones, internet, electricity, etc) in your name
• Buy cars by applying for loans in your name
• Obtain mortgages to buy a home
• File for bankruptcy to avoid paying bills they’ve incurred in your name

Scary stuff, isn’t it?  Your information is so easy to obtain.  And there is so much that they can do with that information!  However, there ARE ways to minimize your risk.