You here more and more about identity theft and fraud. Since I decided to do everything I could do to prevent myself from becoming a victim (I hate complications), I researched exactly how crooks got the information needed to complete the crime, so that maybe I could take preventative measures. Below are some practices that will greatly reduce your chances of being the next victim who had their identity or financial information stolen.

1. Make sure no one is peaking over your shoulder anytime you are entering information into a machine, such as PIN numbers, Credit Card Numbers, etc. Also, if you are giving any personal information over the phone, make sure you are not being over heard by any eves dropper.

2. On the signature line of your Credit Card, you do have the option of writing, "See Photo ID" instead of actually signing it. This will cause a crook complications when using your stolen credit card in person, unless they look exactly like you and have your ID.

3. Shred EVERYTHING. This includes all financial statements, junk mail credit card offers or anything that has account numbers or personal information on it. Getting information out of the trash is the number one way identity is stolen in regards to opening new credit card accounts with Pre-approved credit card junk mail.

4. Destroy information on a hard drive computer, prior to selling or trading in the machine. Simply deleating information will still leave traces of information you entered on that machine's hard drive and you will need a program such as ShredXP to extract all information 100%. But physically destroying the hard drive does work best if you are throwing the old computer away.

5. Check all statements monthly for any odd charges or numbers. It does take time to sit and do this, but pick a day when you have all your statements and stick to it diligently. This will not stop theft from happening, but will limit the damages if someone has stolen your Credit Card numbers.

6. Avoid sending mail in your mailbox. When the flag is up on a mailbox, there is almost a 50% chance in a crooks mind that they will get either checking account information off a check you are using to pay a bill, signature information or an actual statement of a credit card that is being paid. Crooks only increase the odds by looking for flags up on mailboxes around the begining of the month, when bills are paid. Drop off mail in a USPS mail receptacle or at the post office directly and your out going mail will not be comprimised.

7. Avoid having extra information on checks that is not required but might be easy at check outs. This would include phone numbers, Drivers License, and Social Security numbers. Checks you write and give to other companies, do go through a lot of hands, so it is best to avoid placing information directly in a crooks hands who might work for that company. Identity theft is stolen everyday from this method by employees of the company you issued the check.

8. Get a credit report once a year and double check all the accounts you have on it and the address information of the accounts. You are looking for extra accounts that you never opened, no matter what balance exist. For all practical purposes, it is best to close credit accounts if you are no longer using the account. FICO scores only need 5 accounts to give you a good rating and in fact your score goes lower with excessive accounts, as this is considered a risk that you have the ability to get yourself into financial trouble with so many credit lines.

9. Never carry your Social Security card in your purse or wallet or anywhere near other ID. This is a flimsy card and should be held in your home safe, filing cabinet or vault at your bank. If you ever loose your wallet, having the social security card with your ID means they can apply for lines of credits within minutes and start charging. You get the bill in a couple of months and realize the crooks not only found your wallet, but made your life a living hell for 6 months as you try and close, dispute and straighten out all the accounts they open.

10. Use Paypal to pay for things online and avoid typing your credit card information into your computer so often. Firewalls should stop intruders from getting into your systems, but Paypal does help. Close down browser completely after logging out of paypal or any other financial company and have your history settings set on 0 days. Having a good spyware program, a program like Norton and a Firewall program should be enough to keep intruders from stealing information off your computer. If you do enter your credit card information online, make sure the merchant uses a encrypted page system.

If you follow the above 10 steps as a habit of daily living, you should not ever have your financial or identity stolen and if it is stolen, you should be able to minimize the amount. Thank you for reading this Guide. Jeff Tillery