Avoiding Identity Theft: Protecting Your Mail

When the topic of identity theft comes up everyone inevitably goes to thinking about some sleek looking thief that is hanging out in the shadows or at a computer half way around the world. However, identity theft can be orchestrated right underneath your nose, by a neighbor or a trusted friend or family member. The only way to avoid identity theft is to take the precautions to protect your valuable information.

One thing that nobody ever considers when they take into account their personal information becoming a tool for an identity thief is their mail. While this can mean your email or postal mail, the thing most of us forget about is the postal mail. We are all familiar by now with the "phishing" scams and viruses that are sent through our email, but what about thieves who target your physical or postal mail?

Think about what you do when you send off your bill by walking down the driveway and put the bill in the mailbox and turn up that little red flag. You are, in essence, putting up a little red flag to any devious, money-hungry thief that could be driving by that you have something that can be torn to open with information about you in an unlocked box. Does that sound very safe to you?

We all take the post office for granted and assume that every employee of the post office is trustworthy and honest, but what about the hundreds of other people that may drive by your house before the postman even comes back? How do you know that they are trustworthy or honest? You don't, but you take the whole process for granted. So how do you solve this issue?

Get a mailbox with a lock on it that only the postal service can open, perhaps it is even necessary to get a PO Box for your mail. This may not be as convenient, but I think everyone would sacrifice a little convenience for a lot of security.

When you get mail with "pre-approved" credit offers that only require you to send a piece of mail back to the mailer, don't just throw it away! Shred the documents and then discard them. Make sure your trash isn't easily accessible and throw it out on time every week.

Finally, don't use the little red flag, it just doesn't make sense! Protect your privacy and your identity, think about your mail every time you discard it!