Social Security Identity Theft--Monitor your Identity

Your social security number is the most important piece of identifying information you have if you live in the United States.  At one time, it was used only for employment purposes.  Now, it is used for everything from college admission to professional licensing.  Social security identity theft is a real and growing problem, along with all types of identity theft.  So, what can you do to try and prevent social security theft?

1. First, you will want to take good care of your actual social security card.  Not only could it cause a lot of problems if it fell into the wrong hands, but it is also a lot of trouble to replace.  Do not carry your social security card with you on a daily basis.  Your driver's license is generally enough for your daily needs to identify yourself.
2. Second, be careful who has access to your social security number and also those of your family members.  You may be surprised to learn that around a third of all identity thefts are committed by a known person like a family member or close friend.  It is also surprising to learn that children are frequent targets of these kinds of identity thieves.  That is because they have "clean" identities with no credit history, employment history, marriages, divorces, bankruptcies and so forth.
3. Last, consider using an identity monitoring service to help you protect your social security number and other valuable personal information.  Identity Guard® is an excellent identity monitoring service that will help to avoid social security number identity theft.  The Identity Guard Total Protection® service will monitor the internet continuously to see if your social security number or any other sensitive personal information is turning up on black market websites, secret chat rooms or underground forums.  If certain activity is detected, you will receive a prompt notification.  With Identity Guard, you can always choose how you will be notified--by email, text message or via a convenient mobile application that can be downloaded to your device.  Check out Identity Guard for all of your identity monitoring needs.