Identity theft costs billions of dollars and affected the lives of thousands of Americans.

Local 4 Investigation: Your Trash Is Not Safe

Things To Know To Protect From Identity Theft

Protecting Your Identity Online

You need to know how you can protect yourself from crooks trying to steal your personal information.

Identity thieves can try to trick you with deceiving phone calls, e-mails or visits to your home. They will ask for personal information such as account numbers and Social Security numbers and then use that information to open accounts or charge items in your name.

Identity thieves can also steal mail from your box and dig through your garbage for documents with your information on it.

To protect yourself, you should be shredding all documents with your name and address on them, including: credit card bills and applications, medical documents, bank, utility and credit card statements, government and other tax documents, etc.

Local 4 Investigation: Your Trash Is Not Safe

Things To Know To Protect From Identity Theft