Identity theft is a crime where an individual's key identifying information is taken and used for the benefit of an imposter. The identifying information is commonly used items such as Social Security or driver's license numbers. Access can be had through a variety of methods including stolen mail, lost wallets or electronic devices, computer data mining, "phishing" scams or discarded documents. Figures from 2011 show there were 11.6 million cases of identity theft, up 13% from the prior year. Not exactly an epidemic, but enough frequency to be concerned. So what should you do about it? First, understand that different lifestyles offer different levels of risk for identity theft. Most everyone carries a wallet, which is a source of risk and always has been. But having a computer with personal information is another large risk factor. Using that same computer to surf the Internet and execute online purchases increases the risk further. Thus, avoiding those types of transactions greatly reduces your risk. Continuing the computer theme, it turns out that social media (along with mobile phone data usage) is a growing risk factor. Again, reducing these exposures reduces risk.

Many are not surprised at the identity theft risks involved with computers or mobile devices. But even simple items such as discarding your bill paying or banking statements without shredding them can be risky. Dumpster diving doesn't get the same attention as computer "phishing" scams, but it is a source of identity theft nonetheless. Note: "phishing" is a scam where an email is sent to you, masquerading as a trustworthy source, in an attempt to capture identity information for nefarious purposes. Another no-no is to carry your social security card on your person. Keep it in a safe place and only carry needed photo ID and the credit or debit cards you use regularly.

How to Protect Yourself

The following is a short list of items to help reduce your exposure to identity theft:

• Protect your Social Security number by not carrying the card and not giving out the number without complete confidence in the requestor. Also, don't let your health insurance company use your social security number as a policy number.
• Shred paper trash that has anything to do with banking, credit card or investment statements...even credit card applications
• Use a local post office for outgoing mail rather than residence mail pick-up
• Take care to secure your computer and home network
• Use intricate passwords for all online account access
• Check your credit once per year using a service such as www.annualcreditreport.com

Let me now offer a brief overview of identity theft protection services. Many of you have probably heard of services such as LifeLock. Their credit monitoring service ranges from $10/month to $25/month. From my view, the basic service at $10/month does not do anything that an individual cannot do themselves for free. The more expensive service does add some monitoring features that are less easy to achieve. But as good as those features sound, I've not seen them as part of a recommended personal identity monitoring regimen. In general, if you are a person who isn't particularly interested in following recommended steps to protect your identity...and...you are not likely to engage in regular credit monitoring, then an identity monitoring service might make sense. Lastly, LifeLock offers a support program in the event that your identity is stolen while being a member of their service. While this support could be valuable, numerous legal opinions have surfaced that suggest the protection is riddled with disclaimers and is not nearly as robust as the company suggests. I cannot confirm or deny either way, but clearly, the buyer should be aware of the situation.