No one can totally prevent identity theft, but if you follow the tips below you can definitely reduce your risk of fraud. By being proactive and by identifying identity theft early, you can minimize your chance of being a victim of financial crimes.

Follow these guidelines to help protect yourself:

Regularly order a copy of your credit report.

Credit reports contain sensitive information about you and your finances. Regularly reviewing a copy of your credit report will help you catch any errors or discrepancies that may be an indication that you are the victim of a financial crime. A copy of your report may be obtained by contacting Experian, Equifax or TransUnion.

On December 4, 2003, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act was passed into law. The act allows consumers to request and obtain a free credit report once every twelve months from each of the three major credit bureaus including Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. To obtain your free credit report, go to www.annualcreditreport.com to request a copy. This site is sponsored by the three major credit bureaus.

Never carry your Social Security Card with you.

Only carry sensitive forms of identification such as passports, birth certificates and social security cards, when it is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, you need to secure them in locations such as a fireproof safe or safety deposit box. This will help prevent the possibility of them being lost or stolen.

Remove mail from your mailbox as soon as possible after it is delivered.

Never leave your mail in your mailbox for extended periods of times such as overnight or over weekends. Always deposit mail in U.S. Postal Service collection boxes when possible. Thieves will take the opportunity to steal your personal information out of your mailbox if you give it to them. Always place your mail on hold if you are going to be away from your residence. You may do this by visiting www.usps.com.

Pay close attention to when you should be receiving bills.

If you notice that you haven't received a bill that you should have, immediately call the company to see when it was mailed. If you should have received the bill and you haven't, it could be an indication that your mail may have been stolen. Make sure your billing address hasn't been changed by an identity thief.

Always keep a watchful eye on credit cards.

People regularly hand over their credit cards to strangers to complete financial transactions. Ideally, the transaction should be completed in front of you, but sometimes this is not the case. If your card ever leaves your field of view, this is the time when someone would have the opportunity to skim your card. Be sure to keep a watchful eye on your cards every time they leave your possession.

Buy a shredder.

One of the most important things you can do to prevent identity theft is to shred all documents containing personal information once you are done with them. Identity thieves will go through your garbage looking for documents containing personal information. A good cross cut shredder will do a much better job of shredding your documents than a strip cut shredder, which will give someone the opportunity to piece the document back together.

Be leery of requests for your personal information.

It is common practice for thieves posing as legitimate businesses to attempt to obtain information via the phone or internet. They will usually try to pressure you into releasing your personal information to them. Billions of dollars are lost yearly to fraud related to these types of scams.

Learn More

• Get more tips on preventing identity theft at the Postal Inspection Service's website, Tips to Avoid Identity Theft.