Unfortunately, I've been a victim of identity theft in the past. It's a stressful and frustrating experience. So I'm always open to tips aimed at avoiding this. Here are some useful and simple ways that Frank Abagnale (aka Leonardo DiCaprio's real-life character in "Catch Me If You Can", haha) protects himself.

• Never uses debit card
• Rarely writes checks
• Pays for everything with credit card, so his money is never directly at risk
• Subscribes to credit-report monitoring services
• Shreds documents with a micro-cut shredder
• Opts out of creditor's information sharing arrangements

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posted by che @ 9:17 AM