If you may recall, I was the victim of identity theft by a hoodlum in Miami, FL who continues to try to use my Social Security Number to open credit accounts and – for some fixated reason – open new wireless phone accounts, as well.

Well, it’s been months and the inquiries on my credit through this person continue. So far s/he has tried to buy a Gateway computer, open another phone account, open a couple of credit cards and s/he has run up more than $4,000 on a Sprint wireless account (with five phones, no less). That particular account was handed over to collections who called me about when I would send payment.

Below are some lessons I’ve learned over the last few months and hope that you’ll begin to implement them in your own credit habits to protect your credit from fraudulent practices.

1. Make sure when you close an account that it’s actually closed. The above mentioned Sprint account was supposed to have been closed right after all this began. I carried out the instructions given me by the fraud department – visited a Sprint wireless retail outlet, with my valid identification, including my Social Security card, and authorized the closing of the account.

Once collections called me this last time, I found out the clerk had only turned off the phones – but left the account active. The bad guys came back in apparently and had the phones reactivated. If you’re closing an account, have them verify it in writing so that you have evidence of your request.

2. ross out personal information on receipts. I now have a heightened sense of potential ID theft since all this began. Therefore, I check out every receipt I receive from vendors and retail outlets to make sure all but the last four digits of any given credit card number has been ex-ed out. For instance, your favorite restaurant will print out a form for you to sign, as well as a receipt for the transaction. The portion you sign may have your credit card number on it – cross it out. I do this at restaurants, retail outlets, department stores – everywhere.

3. Watch out for your Social Security number being used as your ID number for your accounts. This is prevalent in the insurance industry. My health insurance card uses my Social Security number as my account number. My driver’s license used to till I renewed my license and requested a non-SSN ID number on the card. Where ever possible, request a company-issued ID number for the account.

4. Don’t release your SSN to anyone on the phone. When the collection agency called me about the Sprint wireless account, they wanted to verify who I was by asking for my SSN number. Wait a minute! They called ME. They may sound official, but, frankly I didn’t know if they were really who they said they were. So I told them to give me what they had on their computer screen and I would verify if what they had was correct with a simple, yes or no.

I am astounded by the stupid – yes, stupid – credit policies in place at credit card companies and other retail outlets that set up accounts with personal information. If they know there’s a fraud problem, then why would they use the SSN as part of the identification verification process? They ask for it in person, through the automated touch-tone service, on written forms. The SSN is floating around so much, it’s a wonder the problem isn’t bigger than it is now.

Another pet peeve I have with my credit card companies are the “checks” they send me in the mail. The liability there is so astounding to me. Here I am trying to protect my personal financial information, but they drop it in the mail to me just about every month. “Just sign the bottom line and you’ve got cash,” goes the promotion … well have you thought that maybe a two-bit crook intercepting my “credit card checks” could do the same thing? Sheesh.

5. Purchase a document shredder. These are relatively inexpensive when you consider what they protect. Shred any type of credit, check or financial file you no longer need and want to discard. The shredder destroys all sorts of items: checks, bank statements, IRA account statements, old credit cards – even commercial offers for more credit.

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America. The best protection is prevention.