Get Smart about Identity Theft

Some useful tips to prevent identity theft from a financial planner and strategist in "Carolina Newswire":

For the sixth year in a row, identity theft tops the annual list of consumer complaints collected by the Federal Trade Commission.

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Within the last twelve months, 9.3 million Americans were victims of identity theft. The mean resolution time is at a high of 40 hours per victim in 2006 compared to 28 hours in 2005. In fact, it can sometimes take years of frustrating effort to get
everything back to normal. These figures indicate a crime that is spinning out of control.

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...identity theft is still primarily a crime of opportunity, so become a hard target.

If you carry a wallet or purse, photocopy the contents. Copy both sides of each license, credit card, insurance card, etc. Put the photocopy away in a safe place. If your wallet should be stolen, you will have a record of everything that was in it,
including account numbers and the phone numbers needed to call and cancel them. Also, do not carry your social security card or give out your number.