By Colleen Rothe

In our seemingly internet-centered world, it’s not really surprising that identity theft was number one for the ninth straight year on a list of consumer complaints. This fact and that ID theft will continue to be a hot spot of criminal activity, according to a report published by the Federal Trade Commission in February, mean the only way to protect yourself and your family is to get on the defensive.

The Hard Copy is Easy: The old school method of ID theft is still fairly common and has nothing to do with the Internet or computers. It’s your mailbox. Consider getting a post office box, that way your mail is under lock and key. Also, try to get financial documents sent to you electronically rather than via snail mail. The post office even recommends, even though they still offer the red-flagged service for free, not to leave outgoing mail in an unsecured mailbox. If you’re expecting a package, track its progress on the delivery service’s website, so you can time delivery and your pick up to minimize any unattended time. Lastly, if you travel, put a hold on your mail until you return. It is really simple. You can even do it online. Speaking of doing it online, another defensive move is to stop mailing paper checks. The post office hates to push business away, but they agree. Pay your bills online whenever possible.

Login Regularly: Monitor your checking, savings, and credit card accounts regularly, so that any unusual activity will stand out to you. It’s really funny how some common services appear really odd on your online register. But once you understand that this odd listing is actually your grocery store, you won’t worry as much. It feels much better to call the bank and say, “Hey, I don’t recognize that transaction,” and have them tell you it’s your local butcher shop, then to find your bank account cleaned out the next day. Most banks now provide 24-hour access to the status of your accounts. Some even allow you to create custom-made email alerts about activity in your account.

Block the Box: Make sure that your computer has up-to-date virus and malware scanning software. Do regularly scheduled scans. Don’t do banking business while accessing an unsecured wireless access point. Change your passwords often.

Keep it to Yourself: Never pay someone to protect your identity. Outside of virus software and a crosscut shredder, gadgets that claim they protect your phone, trash, etc., just don’t work. It’s better to set up fraud alerts with the credit bureaus, remove your name from pre-approved credit card offers and junk mailing lists. Additionally, make photocopies of sensitive items (bank account numbers, credit card numbers) and keep them in a secure location separate from your wallet or purse. That way if your wallet is stolen, you can quickly contact each bank and card issuer and notify them of the theft easing the shut down of the stolen accounts and opening new ones.

Get Smart: Stay up to date on what’s what in the identity theft world. The Federal Trade Commission’s website gives regular updates on identity theft current trends and news. Your local library likely holds presentations on how to protect yourself from identity theft. Regularly read consumer awareness sites like Consupo, or even your bank’s website, that may have lots of valuable information on methods to defend against identity theft.

Your biggest shield from being one of the statistics making identity theft the biggest crime and consumer complaint is your own habits. So check yourself and get in a defensive stance.

What do you do to protect yourself from identity theft?