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Financial Self-Defense: Arm Yourself Against Identity Theft Crooks

A decade ago, a thief walked into the offices where I was working in Washington DC and, in the middle of the day, walked out with several computers, a television and a VCR. One of the offices hit was just two doors down from where I sat working, oblivious to the heist. The experience left everyone in the office unnerved. How could someone have pulled off that crime right under our noses? Why weren’t we paying better attention?

I imagine identity theft victims often feel the same way. Many probably question whether they could or should have been more vigilant.

Minimize Your Risk of Identity Theft

Turn on the news or pick up a newspaper and you'll probably find something about identity theft because it continues to be the fastest growing white-collar crime in the United States. Identity theft victims spend long periods of time and their own money cleaning up the mess than identity thieves have made.

You can minimize your risk of identity theft by taking the following steps:

1. Don't give out your Social Security number without determining if it's really necessary. Your employer and financial institution need your Social Security number for wage and reporting. Other businesses may ask for your Social Security number for general record keeping. Before giving your Social Security number ask the following questions:
   
   Why do you need it?
   How will it be used?
   How do you protect it from being stolen?
   What will happen if I don't give it to you?