If you are like me—paranoid and all—when it comes to identity theft, then the one thing you should be securing under lock and key is your social security number! Why? It’s because if someone gets hold of your social security number, it is good as stolen! Here are some tips on how to protect your Social Security Number and avoid identity theft from happening:

•    Your Social Security card does not belong in your wallet eventhough it must be the first place you’ll ever think of putting it. It should be stored in some place safe and personal. This will keep wallet snatchers from getting your social security card details and use it as their own.
•    Never give away your number even if the request looks legitimate enough. I have posted about it twice: your email addresses are the number one target of scams requesting for your social security number and quite horribly, they even duplicate legitimate pages to fool you. A legitimate request won’t have you providing numbers on unsecured places, they will notify you to report to them personally most likely in the secured confines of their offices.
•    Stolen properties should be reported at once, so does your lost wallet. Even if it might only be a bad case of forgetting where you last put it down or a real case of a stolen property, a lost wallet should be considered as a serious situation since you are most likely to put your personal numbers in there where unscrupulous people might see them and use to their advantage.
•    Be vigilant. It’s okay to ask questions when you need to especially if it is about your debts you are asking. The only way to know if there are transactions made not by you is to check your account regularly. Credit reports can be requested online so take advantage of it. This way you will be able to keep track of your accounts thus protecting it against thieves.
•    Remember, thieves abound. There are thieves who do things the traditional way, that is, scamming you and squirreling away your hard earned money under your nose and there are those savvy enough to con the unknowing you. One good example is cyber thieves who target seniors who are merely doing their transactions online. To combat this, you will need to practice safe online measures such as installing and updating your anti-virus programs and not be as trusting as you normally would.
•    Your Social Security Number is CONFIDENTIAL. No matter how difficult the situation might be, do not and absolutely never give your number to anyone except when requested by law.