A Shredder in Every Home

In today's Albuquerque Journal, a front page article covered the arrest of what they are calling the largest identity theft ring in the state. Apparently each person in the ring had a specific task, some handled the B & E to steal checks and id info, others created fake ID's and counterfeit checks and still others cashed the checks. They got caught. This type of ID theft is the province of junkies-- meth especially. If one gets caught the others roll and down goes the ring.

A quick note to the Supreme Court committee-- no court records were used in the stealing of identities by the state's "largest group".

But, since we're on the topic, here are some easy to follow tips to reduce your risk of identity theft from these types of ID thieves (the hacker types are a whole different type of thief-- there is little you can do yourself to protect from them as they typically hack third part repositories such as credit card processing companies. Reducing your risk is all about common sense.

-- Don't ever leave your driver's license or check book in the car. Not in the glove box or console. Period.
-- Reduce your use of paper checks. Use a check card whenever possible.
-- Keep your checks, bank statements and personal identification in places that require a bit of searching. If someone breaks into your home to steal your financial info, soc # and other info-- they don't have a lot of time before they have to run. Make it harder. Note: Top drawer of the dresser is not a good place.
-- Password protect your computer and remove last years tax returns from them. Save them to a hard drive that you can keep hidden. The same with any other personal info on your computer. If they grab the computer make it take so long to get your info that you have plenty of time to cancel everything before they get to it.
--Make your house less attractive to burglars. Most burglaries are daytime affairs-- a burglar is less likely to get shot breaking into a home when no one is home. Dogs that stay inside, alarm systems and signs, good exterior lighting, no bushes blocking the front door from public view. Have good dead bolts, locking bars or clips on sliding doors and windows.

And of course shred anything that can be used to steal your identity before throwing it in the trash or recycling.

For more information on how to reduce your risk of being a crime victim including identity theft visit
http://www.everydaydetective.com