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Keep Your
Identity to Yourself
There's a national identity crisis in the works — and not the existential kind. It's identity theft that's plaguing many
Americans. Every minute of every day, 17 people in the United States have their identity stolen.1 That's as many as 9 million people
each year. Identity thieves try to access your personal information in order to steal money from your accounts, open new credit card accounts, apply
for loans and commit other crimes — all using your identity. Learn how to protect yourself.
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#38 Refuse, Politely
Give out your personal information on a "need-to-know" basis.
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#39 Be Savvy About Scams
Keep up to date on new ways identity theft is being committed — like "phishing" — and learn how to avoid those traps.
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#40 Get Secure
Bank statements, credit card offers, and anything else that contains account info should be shredded before you recycle it.
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#41 Stay in Check
Check your statements and credit report often.
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1. Chatzky J, Help! My Identity's Been Stolen. PracticalMoneySkills.com. 2008