ProtectMyID Editorial: How to Minimize Your Risk of Identity Theft

While there's no guarantee that you will not experience identity theft, there are things you can do to minimize your risk of becoming a victim. Get started with these 10 tips:

1. Don't share your personal information

Identity thieves are known for impersonating real businesses, including collection agencies, banks, and charities to gather sensitive data. If you get a call, email, or document in the mail that seems suspicious, thoroughly review it before responding.

2. Use Click Sense Always

give email sender addresses a close look. Identity thieves often duplicate emails from companies or contacts you know. If you get an email and it looks suspicious or asks for an unusual action, don't open it. To avoid viruses, malware, or phishing scams, hold your mouse cursor over the URL address to see where the link will direct you. If you do click on the link and it turns out to be fraudulent, let the legitimate company know so they can warn other consumers.

3. Create strong passwords

Your passwords are your first line of defense against identity theft. To make your passwords hard to crack, make them long and complex. Also, don't duplicate login credentials across sites because if one gets stolen, fraudsters will have access to multiple accounts. To make password management more manageable, consider a service. With a password manager, you only have to remember a single master key to access your account instead of multiple logins across different sites.

4. Take advantage of two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of protection to your online accounts. Most websites and apps offer two-factor authentication. To activate it, when you sign into your account, you receive a onetime code on your mobile phone or computer. Once you get it, you enter the code to verify your identity and get access to your account.

5. Only sign on to secure Wi-Fi sites

Practicing safe Wi-Fi habits can help keep your identity secure in public spaces. Fraudsters often set up free Wi-Fi networks and use them to steal information from joiners. Use trusted and secure Wi-Fi when away from your home or work network.

6. Update your social media settings

Keep your location data and personal information on your social accounts private so fraudsters can't scan your profile for personal details. Set your privacy settings to "friends" or "private." Also, make sure no personal information, like your driver's license or credit card details, are in any of the photos you post.