Teen ID Theft

Young consumers are seriously at risk for identity theft. A new survey shows there are nine million identity theft victims annually, one third of whom are between 18 and 29 years old. To help minimize credit exposure, CreditReport.com recommends consumers shred all documents with personally identifying information, protect Social Security numbers, not to carry unnecessary cards, opt out of pre-approved credit and insurance offers, protect your mail and mailboxes and to protect your computer by using anti-virus software. Additional measures recommended by
CreditReport.com include using strong PINs/passwords, changing them frequently, monitoring accounts between statements and to maintain privacy when writing checks or using a debit/ATM machine. Moreover, the consumer website recommends keeping tabs on your credit through credit monitoring services, most of which offer free-trial periods, to protect from identity theft. For a free annual credit report