No matter who you are it is safe to say that you don’t want to become a victim of identity theft. This is not a fun situation to deal with, and it can cause many problems. Fortunately, there are some tips you can follow to prevent identity theft. The more you know about preventing this white collar crime the better off you will be.

Here are three tips to keep in mind if preventing identity theft is important to you:

• Immediately report lost debit or credit cards. The longer you wait the better chance there is that somebody is going to use this information to their benefit. Even if you think you may find the card you should still cancel it. Once your card is canceled the issuer can send a new one and you will be back to normal soon enough.
• Keep your personal information to yourself. This includes everything from your social security number to your bank account numbers and much more. You don’t want to share this information with anybody and everybody.

Tip: do not keep your social security card in your wallet. Instead, hide it in a safe place where only you know where it is at.

• Shred important documents. How many credit card applications do you receive in the mail every year? If you are like most people the answer is a lot. Be sure to shred these documents before discarding them. Believe it or not, some people will go through the trash in hopes of finding a credit card application in your name. This is the first step in stealing your identity and it is quite common.

These are only three ways to prevent identity theft. It is your job to keep your identity safe at all times. Are you up to the task?