| This is an easy secret: The less personal information you carry, the less personal information an identity thief can steal from you. The following sections discuss some simple measures you can take to prevent your important information from being stolen. Do not carry your Social Security Card Don't under any circumstances ever carry your Social Security Card in your wallet or purse. Lose your wallet or purse — or worse, have it stolen — and you lose your Social Security Card. Your SSN is an important identifier in our society; the number can be sold or used by anyone once they have your card. The only time you need to carry your Social Security Card is when you start a new job (so that the Human Resources department can photocopy it). After you return home from your first day at a new job, take your Social Security Card out of your wallet or purse and place it in the fireproof safe where you keep your other important documents for safekeeping.  | Be stingy with your SSN. Nobody but the government has a lawful reason to request your SSN. You don't have to give your SSN to any business that asks for it, except when completing a credit application, or for verification purposes your first day on a new job. |
If you suspect or know that someone is using your SSN to get a job, contact the Social Security Administration. You can see whether someone is using your SSN to get a job by checking your Social Security statement. You can order a statement online or contact the nearest Social Security Administration Office and request one. In addition to any statement you request, a statement is sent to you annually. Memorize your bank ATM PIN Choose an ATM PIN that you can easily remember. This way, you don't need to write it down. Writing down your PIN defeats the purpose of having a PIN. Writing down your PIN and carrying it in your wallet or purse with your ATM card is an especially bad idea. If your wallet or purse is stolen or lost, you lose your PIN and possibly your money as well.  | When you choose a PIN, don't use your birthday, your children's or spouses' birthday, your SSN, your address, and so on. These numbers are too easy to guess. Try instead the last four digits of a friend's phone number (not your own!), or a special date that isn't your birthday. |
| Protect yourself. Don't make it easy for would-be thieves to steal your hard-earned money. Memorize your PIN so that if you lose your ATM card, you can rest easy knowing the card is useless to any one else. |
Carry one credit card Look in your wallet or purse. How many credit cards are in there? You probably have several cards in your wallet, and even some you forgot you were carrying and haven't used in a long time. So right now, stop reading and take out all the extra credit cards in your wallet. You will be glad you did. Carrying more than one credit card only compounds your problems when your wallet or purse is stolen or lost, so just don't do it. Take retail store credit cards, for example. The only time you need to carry a retail store credit card is when you are going to that store. In fact, most retail stores now accept the major credit cards, so how many different cards do you really need? The fewer cards you have, the less you have to worry about if your wallet or purse is stolen or lost. | You are striving to become a hard target, which means that you are practicing prevention. If you carry less personal information, you will be a harder target. If someone does get your wallet or purse, they will not have as much personal information about you as they do about the other person who was nice enough to carry all of his or her credit cards at one time. |
Carry personal checks only when necessary Carrying your personal checks everywhere you go isn't the best idea. Of course, there are times when you need to purchase something on the spur of the moment and having your checks with you comes in real handy. But losing your blank checks can be a drain on your checking account balance if someone finds and uses the checks to help himself or herself to your money. Consider some alternatives, like using cash, or using the one major credit card that you carry in your wallet or purse. If you do lose your blank checks, contact the bank immediately and have them freeze your account to cover outstanding checks written on the account. You may need to open a new account.  | After you write a check, make sure that you only tear out the one you just wrote and not the next one along with it, which is blank. Giving a blank check to someone could be a problem for you depending upon the honesty of the person to whom you unknowingly hand the blank check. |
| Minimize your exposure by carrying your personal checks only when you know you will need them. The less often you carry your personal checks around, the less chance you have of losing them or having them stolen. |
| Here are some other tips for keeping your checks secure: |
- Do not put your driver's license number or SSN on your checks.
- Make sure that you can account for all your checks — used, unused, and void.
- When you pay by check, you should be aware of your surroundings as you write out and sign the check. If someone looks over your shoulder, they can easily memorize your name and address and the name of the bank where you have your account.
- Be careful with the check registers that are a carbon of the check you just wrote. If you lose the register, the information in the carbon can be a problem. The carbon in the register has the check number, account number (for most banks), name of the bank, and your signature (often blocked out by a black box). Keep these check registers in an especially safe location when shopping.
- When you void checks, destroy them before you discard them, and do not forget to record in your register that check number XYZ has been voided and the date you voided it.
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