How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of ID Theft at Home and on Vacation

When you are at home, you tend to feel safe and Identity Theft is likely the furthest thing from your mind. Now think about when you are on vacation - you are soaking in the scenery and new experiences and your guard may be completely down. Both of these situations place you in a vulnerable position; a position criminals manipulate to their advantage - and use to master the devious art of identity theft.

Yes, criminals are always thinking of ways to steal your identity, and they are getting craftier each year. The personal information targeted includes your

• credit and debit accounts,
• social security number,
• driver’s license number

This and other sensitive information is then used to then acquire debt in your good name.

This isn’t to say you should live your life terrified of identity theft, but that you can take steps to prevent it and ease them into your everyday lifestyle.  Adopting these tips will give you the peace of mind that you are protecting yourself in ways that some overlook.

To prevent your home from attracting attention or your vacation from becoming a detour of disaster, follow these simple tips to protect yourself:

• Before you depart, inform your bank and credit card companies you are going to be traveling. If you can, give them dates and destinations. Most institutions are happy to monitor your accounts, as they do not want to be liable for any stolen sums.
• Use a pin-based ATM card only, rather than a check or debit card. Check and debit cards can be used without a pin to make purchases. This way if your card is compromised, it is worthless to the criminal.
• Leave your checkbook and extra credit cards at home. Use cash, one credit card, or traveler’s checks to lower your risk of ID theft. Lock up all of the sensitive information you leave in your home.
• Have someone you trust collect your mail while you are away, it may contain sensitive information that can lead to your ID being stolen.
• Pay your bills prior to departure for vacation.  Do not take bills along with you; hotels are dangerous places to leave bills because the account information printed on them is readily available to anyone. This is a serious threat to your identity.
• Shred bills at home rather than tossing them out with the garbage to minimize exposure of account information, criminals do sift through trash in search of these materials.
• Just as you are wary with what you leave in your hotel room, never leave anything with personal information in your rental car - it is an easy target.
• If you take your computer with you, update your anti-spyware and anti-virus programs before you leave, as you will be connecting to possibly unsecured Internet connections, a haven for ID thieves.
• If you are using your computer on vacation, do not access your personal accounts from your hotel room or Internet café; publicly available Internet connections are a common source of identity theft. This is because they are generally unprotected signals with a high volume of usage.
• Be aware of people “hovering” around you. Cell phone cameras are popular methods for thieves to photograph your personal information. And remember that your cell phone, PDA and laptop store personal information about you-and it takes just a second for them to be stolen.

Following these simple tips will drastically reduce your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft, though there are unfortunately no guarantees that your identity will not be stolen. Even the most diligent and conscious people become victimized by ID theft.

Most thieves are lazy, and will take what is easy to access over what they must work harder for- use that to your advantage by staying ahead of the game.

Protecting yourself is the best way to help prevent what could become a long and tumultuous process of regaining your good name and identity. No one savors the thought of being victimized, and no crime feels quite as personal as identity theft, so make it difficult for thieves to steal yours from you.