Instead of doing a recycling/repurposing food post for garbage day, thought I’d remind everyone of this safety tip. It’s tax time and everyone is going through their office/desk drawers and digging up all sorts of financial and personal paperwork. If ID thieves do get your information, it can take years to recover, so take all precautions.

Going through your garbage is one way that Identity Thieves get information. Do not put out your garbage the night before garbage day, unless it’s unavoidable. Use a shredder for important papers, or depending on where you live, burn them. Don’t throw away anything unshredded that contains your personal information. I don’t have a shredder (I’m too afraid of the boys getting their fingers in it!) so here is my funny tip–I keep personal papers in a small pile in our office. When I am ready to throw them out, I tear them up into tiny pieces, and I throw them into the diaper pail bag! That way, if an identity thief wants my info, he’s going to have to piece together shredded papers that have been fermenting in the diaper pail.

Make sure that whatever online filing programs you are using are secure, as well as your wireless internet connection.

If you are a military family, particularly if your military person is deployed, take extra precautions. A new trend in ID fraud is to target deployed military personnel, mainly because if you are overseas, you can’t see what is happening and respond in a timely manner. Sad, but true!

Be very careful on the phone and avoid phishers. No company that you do business with should be calling you and asking you for personal information. Ask to call them back.

Make sure you set very strong passwords online. Use lower case, uppercase, capitals and numbers. Always know what your kids are doing online. Keep your kids included in these conversations, as is age appropriate, so that they have the knowledge as they get older.

Pay attention to incoming mail. If your newborn baby is getting credit card offers, you may have a problem. Pay attention to what junk mail is appearing, because it may be triggered by something identity thieves are doing. Call 1-888-5-OPTOUT and opt out of pre-approved credit card offers. That way they won’t show up in your mailbox for someone to steal.

Keep only what is absolutely necessary in your purse or wallet. Consider a safe deposit box or home safe for important documents.

Monitor your credit report. At minimum, you should check it once every 6-12 months.