Even though the victims of Identity Theft may not be required to pay their imposters' bills, the victims are often left with a bad credit report and might spend months and may be even years regaining their financial health. Unless they fully recover from the Identity Theft the victims often have difficulty issuing checks, securing loans, renting or leasing apartments, and even getting jobs. From stealing wallets for obtaining your credit card numbers and other pieces of identification, identity thieves have moved forward with more sophisticated and modern means of stealing your personal information.

Tips for Identity Theft Prevention:

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 1
Try and reduce the amount of information that is in public circulation by considering the following - To reduce the amount of personal information that is in circulation consider the following:

• Unsubscribe your name from the marketing lists of the three major credit reporting bureaus to limit the number of pre-approved offers of credit that you receive. If you receive pre-approved credit offers, shred them using a cross-shredder and do not throw them in Trash cans.
  
  
• Have your name registered with the Direct Marketing Association Mail Preference Service and the Telephone Preference Service and adding your information to the computerized name deletion lists used by nationwide marketers.
  
  
• Get your name and addresses removed from telephone books and reverse directories.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 2
Make use of a lock on your mail boxes at your residence as well as your offices to protect yourself from mail theft or consider using a post office box.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 3
Always pick your new checks directly from banks instead of requesting them to be delivered to your home. You may also request the new checks sent to a post office box.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 4
Use a ball point permanent marker pen to write checks. Post the checks directly from your Post Office instead of dropping them in the mailbox in your neighborhood.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 5
Try paying your bills with the help of an electronic bill clearance house.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 6
Always carry a minimum number of credit cards for regular use. Reduce the number of credit cards that you actively used. Cancel all the unused credit cards.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 7
Maintain a list of all the credit cards along with their account number, the phone numbers of the credit card issuing bank, expiration dates of the credit card and other relevant information and store this list in a secure place so you can quickly contact your creditors in case your credit cards are stolen. Do the same with your bank accounts.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 8
Make it a point to order your credit report from all the three major credit bureaus to verify for any inaccuracies and fraudulent use of your accounts. Make sure that you know all the line of information established in your file.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 9
Do not throw away any credit cards receipts and keep them with yourself in a safe place.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 10
While choosing a password, do not choose an obvious word or anything that can be easily guessed by a Identity thief. Try to mix numbers with characters. Do not choose passwords such as your birth date, name of your child or your pets name.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 11
Request your financial institution to add additional security protection to your account. Do not use your mother's maiden name, as that is all too easily obtained by identity thieves.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 12
Memorize all your passwords. Do not write them on anything in your wallet or purse.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 13
Never reveal your social security number to any one, protect your social security number. Reveal it someone if it is absolutely necessary (tax forms, employment records, most banking, stock and property transactions). The social security number is the key to your credit and bank accounts and is a most wanted target of identity thieves.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 14
Order your Social Security Earnings and Benefits Statement once a year to check for fraud. Carefully review your credit card statements for unauthorized use.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 15
While filling out loan applications find out how the company disposes of them. When you pay by credit card, ask the business how it stores and disposes of the transaction slip. Avoid paying by credit card if you think the business does not use adequate safeguards.

Identity Theft Prevention Tip no 16
Protect your canceled checks. If stolen, canceled checks can reveal a lot of information about you. Never permit your credit card number to be written on your checks. It is a violation of California law (California Civil Code 1725) and places you at risk of fraud.