By Frank W. Abagnale • Bankrate.com • Dec 8, 2004

1. Guard your Social Security number.
2. Monitor your credit report.
3. Shred all old bank and credit statements and "junk mail" credit card offers before trashing them.
4. Remove your name from the marketing lists of the three credit reporting bureaus.
5. Add your name to the name-deletion lists of the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service and Telephone Preference Service used by banks and other marketers.
6. Do not carry extra credit cards or other important identity documents.
7. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Copy both sides of your license and credit cards so you have all the account numbers, expiration dates and phone numbers if your wallet or purse is stolen.
8. Do not mail bill payments and checks from home.
9. Do not print your Social Security number on your checks.
10. Order your Social Security Earnings and Benefits statement once a year to check for fraud.
11. Examine the charges on your credit card statements before paying them.
12. Cancel unused credit card accounts.
13. Never give your credit card number or personal information over the phone unless you have initiated the call and trust that business.
14. Subscribe to a credit report monitoring service that will notify you whenever someone applies for credit in your name.
    
    

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