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     Criminals can easily obtain our personal data without having to break into our homes. In public places, criminals may watch you from a nearby location as you punch in your telephone calling card number or credit card number, or listen in on your conversation if you give your credit?card number over the telephone to a hotel or rental car company.

     Some criminals go through your garbage cans or a communal dumpster or trash bin to obtain copies of your checks, credit card or bank statements, or other records that typically bear your name, address, and even your telephone number. These types of records make it easier for criminals to get control over accounts in your name and assume your identity.

     If you receive applications for "pre-approved" credit cards in the mail, but discard them without tearing up the enclosed materials, criminals may retrieve them and try to activate the cards for their use without your knowledge. (Some credit card companies, when sending credit cards, have adopted security measures that allow a card recipient to activate the card only from his or her home telephone number but this is not yet a standard practice.) Also, if your mail is delivered to a place where others have ready access to it, criminals may simply intercept and redirect your mail to another location.

     The Internet has also become a good place for criminals to obtain identifying data, such as passwords or even banking information. Many people respond to "spam", unsolicited E?mail, that promises them some benefit but requests identifying data, without realizing that in many cases, the requester only wants the data. Criminals reportedly have used computer technology to obtain large amounts of personal data.

     With enough identifying information about an individual, a criminal can take over that individual's identity to conduct a wide range of crimes, false applications for loans and credit cards, fraudulent withdrawals from bank accounts, fraudulent use of telephone calling cards, or obtaining other goods or privileges which the criminal might be denied if he were to use his real name. If the criminal takes steps to ensure that bills for the falsely obtained credit cards, or bank statements showing the unauthorized withdrawals, are sent to an address other than the victim's, the victim may not become aware of what is happing until the criminal has already inflicted substantial damage on the victim's assets, credit, and reputation.

     To reduce or minimize the risk of becoming a victim of identity theft or fraud, there are some basic steps you can take -- just remember the word "SCAM":

S Be stingy about giving out your personal information to others unless you have a reason to trust them, regardless of where you are:

At Home.
1. Start by adopting a "need to know" approach to your personal data. Your credit card company may need to know your mother's maiden name, so that it can verify your identity when you call to inquire about your account. A person who calls you and says he's from your bank, however, doesn't need to know that information if it's already on file with your bank; the only purpose of such a call is to acquire that information for that person's personal benefit. Also, the more information that you have printed on your personal bank checks ?? such as your Social Security number or home telephone number ?? the more personal data you are routinely handing out to people who may not need that information.