Personal identity theft occurs regularly, in every city in every state across the country, costing victims up to 13 billion dollars each year. It is relatively simple for an identity thief to access one’s personal information, easier than most people think. The following will provide suggestions about how to prevent online identity theft, as well as how to prevent this crime in general.

Pittsfield, MA -- (SBWire) -- 11/20/2012 --Identity theft affects more than 9 million people each year. The results of this crime are defaulted loans that an individual never took out, ownership of and tax responsibilities for a luxury vehicle one does not own, and long-reaching damage to one’s credit score. It can be costly to repair one’s credit score once this damage has occurred, not to mention frustrating and time-consuming. So how do you prevent identity theft? Read on to learn the best answers to this question.

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Most identity theft prevention is common sense. When out shopping, avoid “shoulder surfers” – people who look over one’s shoulder to access one’s credit card number. Keep the credit card close to one’s body, and make the clerk who takes it check ID to be sure the face of the person using the card matches the face on that person’s driver’s license or state identification card. As one receives applications for credit cards in the mail, or any other documents that require personal information, if one chooses to discard then, shred them rather than tossing them into a dumpster or sidewalk trash can. Believe it or not, there are “dumpster divers” – people who go through trash receptacles for the express purpose of gaining someone’s information.

When dealing with how to prevent online identity theft, there are several steps to take. One of them is to destroy all digital data one might have saved upon sale or transfer of one’s computer system. Be absolutely certain that the next owner of one’s computer cannot obtain any of one’s personal information by erasing it prior to the sale. There are products available to “shred” the information stored on a hard drive, and it is advisable to obtain one such product before selling a personal computer. Other ways to avoid online ID theft are to never give out a Social Security number (SSN) to anyone unless one is positive the site is secure, i.e. the government’s Social Security website. Do not hand out one’s birth date or home address to any site, as a crafty ID thief can get hold of it and go from there to steal one’s identity.

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