By now you’ve either read about, heard about or have been a victim of identity theft.

Hundreds of thousands of people are being victimized by this crime every day, and many aren’t even aware of it.

Identity theft is when someone adopts your identity and becomes your evil twin. They do this by taking little bits of your information such as name, address, phone and eventually get hold of your social security number and bank and credit card numbers. Once they compile enough information they create false documentation such as drivers licenses, social security cards and birth certificates. Now they have enough documentation to secure loans, credit cards, and make large purchases on items they will never make payments on like boats, cars and trucks that will be sold on the black market.

This is just the beginning. Once they open bank accounts under your name they have checks made and go on a spending spree with real checks against a bank account under your name with no money in it. They commit crimes under your name such as dealing drugs, getting caught and using your name and fake ID when getting booked into jail.

There are dozens of ways your ID can be hijacked and many are out of your immediate control. The main problem is with the people involved in your everyday transactions such as banking, credit organizations, utility offices and medical establishment employees have access to your most pertinent documentation. Not everyone working for these organizations is credible. They take your information and use it to their advantage or sell it to someone who will.

The only way to protect yourself in these instances is to regularly check your credit report. Go to all of the major credit bureaus including Equifax, or Experian or Transunion . They will have similar information on each report, however there might be information on one report that’s not on another.

At least every six months you should pull a credit report and go over it thoroughly to make sure there are not any unauthorized accounts opened up under your name.

Also check with the Social Security Administration to see if any employers you didn’t work for have paid into SSA. Go to http://www.ssa.gov/ and do a little searching around. Believe it or not individuals will get jobs under your name to get access to even more pertinent records of other people.

You are a target because you are producing income and have established credit. You work with the public and give out business cards with basic information. Be aware of who you are giving your card to. You are probably listed on more than one website. If someone were to type your name in a search engine, what would they find?

There are dozens of things you can do to make it difficult for a thief to copy you:

• Check credit reports at least semi annually
• Check spouses credit reports
• Lock mailbox
• Shred all throwaway documents
• Secure all legal documents and account numbers; tax docs, cancelled checks
• Destroy preapproved credit card offers
• Place mail in secure outgoing mailboxes or at the PO
• Call the post office if you go more than 4 days without mail
• Pay attention to delivery dates of all bills
• Pay close attention to bank and credit card statements
• Reconcile bills and statements diligently and timely
• Pay attention to the expiration date of credit cards and look for arrival of new cards
• Sign all new cards immediately
• Avoid using SS#s for accounts whenever possible
• Have bank ordered checks delivered to the bank and not your home

Be careful with your clients' pertinent information too. If you are irresponsible with a prospect's identifiers and their information gets into the wrong hands, you could be held liable. Be as diligent in protecting their identity as you would your own.

Published: January 20, 2003

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Robert L. Siciliano is the author of The Safety Minute, Safety Zone Press, and a professional speaker on the topic of self defense and personal and property protection. He has been featured on CNN, Montel Williams, Sally Jesse, and the Howard Stern radio show. Robert is available to speak to brokers, associations, and to conduct seminars and workshops for industry events. Visit his Web site at www.realtysecurity.com or contact him at robert@realtysecurity.com