08/03/07 Protectging Your Identity Part 2

Protecting Your Identity Part 2. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. There are people out there waiting for the opportunity to steal your identity. Identity theft is rapidly becoming one of the major crimes in the U.S. But there are ways for you to protect yourself. The Washington State Attorney General is traveling the state conducting seminars on how both individuals and businesses can protect your valuable personal information. Mail theft is a very low tech way for people to get your personal info and there are still a lot of old-fashioned mail boxes out there that offer no protection. Media Relations Manager Kristin Alexander. ALEXANDER: Well unfortunately the old Mayberry days are gone. It used to be that we could keep our front doors unlocked and nobody was worried. Well, identity thieves are after information, information they can find in a lot of places and one of those is your mailbox. It's a plethora of financial documents, maybe your tax returns are coming in, you've got check going out with your bank account because you're paying your bills, etc. Quite frankly what happens is these people will go by and they will wait for your little red flag to come up and then they will take the mail out of your mailbox. If you still have the old-fashioned mailbox at the end of your drive, it's a good idea to not leave anything in the box overnight and to pick up your mail as quickly as you can after delivery. Alexander also says a locking mailbox is an option as well. ALEXANDER: You also want to make sure you work with your postal carrier so that they have access to that but ultimately this is a really easy way that people can reduce the likelihood of becoming identity theft victims. There have been cases where the thief will actually put in a fake change of address with the post office to route your mail elsewhere. The number one way that people lose their information is by simply having your wallet or purse lost or stolen but according to Alexander sometime the people closest to you are the thieves. ALEXANDER: 53% of identity theft in one study is committed by someone known to the victim such as a relative, a co-worker, a neighbor, somebody who is working in your home, a friend. Much, much smaller is actually attributed to hacker or spyware or something like that. She also reminds people to keep your Personal Identification Numbers or PIN's away from prying eyes at the store when you use debit cards. The best prevention is knowledge and Alexander says the Attorney General's office has set up a very comprehensive website with ways to protect yourself and what to do in case you are a victim of identity theft. ALEXANDER: You can find out all the information you need on our website which is guarditwashington.com. Please make it a point to visit the site soon or just call the Attorney Generals office for more information. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.