• Tweet ^[1]
• Email ^[2]

• Tweet ^[1]
• Email ^[2]

If you’ve seen Catch Me If You Can ^[3], you know who Frank Abagnale is and he recently shared some identity theft tips (basically the things he does to protect himself) with MarketWatch ^[4] that are worth remembering.

• Don’t use a debit card.
• Use checks sparingly.
• Use credit cards, because “card issuers do the most to shield consumers from fraud.” (and pay off your balance at the end of the month)
• Use a credit bureau monitoring service that alerts you immediately via email (mail is too slow)
• Use a microcut shredder to turn sensitive documents to dust, literally. Shred the back of catalogs too to avoid someone stealing your customer information.

Solid tips everyone should be following from a solid reformed criminal who was really good at it.

I don’t ever use a debit card because they offer no points or rewards for doing so, I avoid checks because they have all your sensitive information on it (account number, address, what else does a crook need?), and I use credit cards all the time. I use a crosscutting shredder, so not quite dust, but I don’t employ a monitoring service… maybe it’s time to consider it.