1. Does your mailbox have a lock on it? Thieves often take mail from an unlocked mailbox, they will open it, copy pertinent information (bank account number, credit account number, etc.), reseal the envelope then return the mail to your box the next day. The acquired information is sold to Identity Theft Rings for use in the future.
2. Did you know your personal information is available to a thief on the Internet? Personal information of over 90% of all adults in the United States is available for access on the Internet! All it takes for a thief to manufacture a false ID to cause you harm is your name, address and date of birth, all of which are readily available; access a People Search Engine, you’ll be surprised!
3. Do you know where all of the applications (credit, employment, etc.) and other forms you have filled out over the years are? Identity thieves spend a lot of time looking for these documents. They know businesses are less conscience of storage security for old records, however the information to a thief is a gold mine!
4. Are you concerned a health insurance card, time card, work document, check, student ID card, etc. show your SSN, address or phone number? Social Security Numbers are valuable to a thief; they will pay anyone to get this information. Unfortunately there are many who have access to this personal information and more who are willing to sell it!
5. Do you believe rogue individuals only commit Identity Theft? Unfortunately Identity Theft has become a sophisticated organized activity in all parts of the country. IT crime rings exist in all cities big or small; the Mob has earmarked Identity Theft as their new frontier as well. IT rings put great emphasis in accessing databases containing personal information of consumers; there have been numerous press stories telling about millions of data records containing personal information being hijacked from formidable companies. Yours may have been one of those records?
6. When you hand your credit card to someone to process do you believe they could easily copy your credit information? Frequently waitresses, clerks and others use a device called a “skimmer” to collect and store your credit card information. The device is no larger than a credit card; by swiping the credit card through the skimmer it stores all the information on the magnetic strip (name, number, code), at the end of the day the skimmer is hooked to a computer and all the information is downloaded. The credit card information is regularly sold to IT Rings.
7. Do you lock up all personal information at your home? Personal information is acquired regularly from homes, all by people you would not ever suspect (pet sitters, cleaners, repairman, friends and even relatives). The press regularly reports stories where the perpetrator of an Identity Theft crime turned out to be someone the victims knew.
8. Do you always lock your car wherever you are? Thieves no longer focus just on stealing personal items from vehicles; car registration and insurance documents are actually more valuable to them. These documents are quickly sold to IT rings to commit future fraud.
9. Have you made a copy of everything you carry in your wallet or purse? If your wallet or purse were lost or stolen how would you know what was taken?
10. Do you shred not only bank and credit card statements, but also anything (envelopes, magazine labels, etc.) that has your address on it? Many only shred what they consider as credit or banking related, your name and address on any document can be used as a first step to Identity Theft.
11. Did you know many victims do not learn of their Identity crime for a year or more because thieves shield their actions? Thieves can easily hide their trail; the most common way is by using a different address than the victim to receive statements and other pertinent documentation.
12. Have you acquired a credit report in the past year or subscribed to theft monitoring service? Detecting suspicious activity is a necessity in reducing the risk of Identity Theft, acquiring a credit report is the first step. Everyone is vulnerable to Identity Theft today, no matter how careful they are, early detection is the only protection available!

Rate yourself, how many times did you answer “YES” to the previous 12 questions?