More information at: What To Know About Identity Theft | Consumer Advice (ftc.gov)

Identity Theft can happen to anyone, there are some things you can do to reduce your risk.

Keep your personal information safe.

• Lock your financial documents and records in a safe place at home, and lock your wallet or purse in a safe place at work.  Keep your information secure from roommates or workers who come into your home
• Shred receipts, credit offers, credit applications, insurance forms, physician statements, checks, bank statements, expired cards, and similar documents when you don’t need them any longer.
• Take outgoing mail to post office collection boxes or the post office.  Promptly remove mail that arrives in your mailbox.  If you won’t be home for several days, request a vacation hold on your mail.
• When ordering new checks, consider having them shipped to the bank to pick up, unless you have a secure mailbox with a lock.

Keep Your Personal Information Safe Online

• Be Alert to Impersonators – Make sure you know who is getting your personal or financial information.  Don’t give out personal information on the phone, through the mail or over the internet unless you’ve initiated the contact or know who you’re dealing with.  If a company that claims to have an account with you sends email asking for personal information, don’t click on links in the email.  Instead, type the company name into your web browser, go to their site, and contact them through their customer service.  Or call the customer service number listed on your account statement.  Ask whether the company really sent a request.
• Keep Passwords Private – Use strong passwords for all your logins, including credit, bank and other accounts.  Be creative: think of a special phrase and use the first letter of each word as your password.  Substitute numbers for some words or letters. For example, “I want to see the Pacific Ocean” could become 1W2ctPo.
• Don’t Overshare on Social Networking Sites – If you post too much information about yourself, an identity thief can find information about your life, use it to answer ‘challenge’ questions to your accounts, and get access to your money and personal information.  Consider limiting access to your networking page to a small group of people.  Never post your full name, Social Security number, address, phone number, or account numbers in publicly accessible sites.

Keep your Device Secure

• Use Security Software – Install anti-virus software, and a firewall.  Set your preference to update these protections often.  Protect against intrusions and infections that can compromise your computer files or passwords by installing security patches for your operating system and other software programs.
• Avoid Phishing Emails – Don’t open files, click on links, or download programs sent by strangers. Opening a file from someone you don’t know could expose your system to a computer virus or spyware that captures your passwords or other information you type.
• Be Wise About Wi-Fi – Before you send personal information over your laptop or smartphone on a public wireless network in a coffee shop, library, airport, hotel or other public place, see if your information will be protected.  If you use an encrypted website, it protects only the information you send to and from that site.  If you use a secure wireless network, all the information you send on that network is protected.
• Lock Up your Laptop – Keep financial information on your laptop only when necessary.  Don’t use an automatic login feature that saves your username and password.  and always log off when you’re finished.  That way, if your laptop is stolen, it will be harder for a thief to get at your personal information.