Customers may be in a position to prevent potential identity theft by closely guarding their personal data. For example, never give out your Social Security number over the phone unless you know the company you are dealing with and have initiated the call.

Similarly, if your mother's maiden name is not likely to be a secure password, consider changing it to something a little more difficult for a thief to obtain. Also, carry only the cards you are actually going to use, and leave official documents like Social Security cards, passports and birth certificates at home or in a safety deposit box.

* Shred your important papers. Don't just throw them out or rip them into pieces. Shredding is the best way to keep "dumpster divers" from obtaining credit card offers, receipts and other personal information from your trash.

* Opt out. Credit reporting agencies make billions of dollars each year by selling your information to credit card companies. You can have your name removed from the lists by calling (888) 5-OPT-OUT, or mail Frank's pre-written letter to the credit agencies.

* Write letters to the companies you deal with asking that they do not share, trade, or sell your personal i

o To thwart an identity thief who may pick through your trash or recycling bins to capture your personal information, tear or shred your charge receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, physician statements, checks and bank statements, expired charge cards that you're discarding, and credit offers you get in the mail.

* Pay attention to your billing cycles. Follow up with creditors if your bills don't arrive on time. A missing credit card bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your account and changed your billing address to cover his tracks.

Should you discover that your mail has been forwarded without your authorization, go to the post office and report it.

For financial accounts, online shopping or anything else, change your passwords frequently.

A thief could hack into a computer system to steal your personal data. Thieves even hijack the identities of dead people and steal from their estates. But most identity theft is much more low-tech-and just as effective.

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Approximate Word count = 2117
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)