11. Check your credit report regularly.  If your identity is stolen, the thief can open up a new account in your name, make purchases, and not pay for the purchases.  Then your credit report will have the negative entries.

 

If this has happened to you, call the credit reporting agencies and have a fraud alert placed on your report, which will prevent any more accounts from being opened in your name without notifying you first.

 

So, even if it means that you become a little skeptical, it still pays off. No one can ever tell when an identity thief will attack. Indeed, it's best to stay alert all the time especially if you're in a public place. As they say, an ounce of prevention is better that a pound of cure.

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