Identity theft is one of the scariest crimes of the last decade, not because it’s new (it isn’t), but because it’s getting more widespread and more effective with the advancements in technology. In order to protecting yourself, your best weapon is education. Here’s some quick points that you should consider to help protect yourself and your credit file.

Probably the first thing to do is make sure all of your household phone numbers are in the Do Not Call Registry, which means that telemarketers cannot call you to try and sell you products over the phone. While there are many legitimate telemarketing companies out there, the fact that someone can buy your phone number and try and call you out of the blue to get your credit card should raise a red flag. So, if you put your numbers in the registry and you get a telemarketing call, you should immediately be suspicious. You can add the numbers at www.donotcall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222.

One thing you must do is obtain and review a copy of your credit report every year. This won’t cost you anything to review once a year, despite many of those advertised ‘free’ credit report offers where you actually have to sign up for a monthly service. Visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com and check your report, and report any discrepancies. You can also protect your credit report without paying a monthly service to do it; for more information, see the resources at the end of this article.

Never give to a charity unless you know it’s legitimate. One of the easiest scams to run is to accept donations for a fictitious charity, and the level of sophistication can run from a guy with a sign and a bucket on a street corner to full-fledged operations with call centers.

The most insidious method of identity theft is also possibly the most effective. ‘Phishing’ attacks, where messages are sent to unsuspecting people in an attempt to get them to turn over sensitive financial information, is on the rise. This can be an email claiming to be from your bank, to a text message, or a letter. Be careful, and do not respond to any message directly. Go and contact the company in question yourself. Phishing is a deep subject and you need to be aware of the various ways it can occur.

Probably the simplest measure to prevent identity theft attack is to buy a cross-cut shredder and shred anything with identifiable information on it. This includes not only account numbers but also addresses, names and phone numbers.

Look for Opt-Out option s wherever you can, which means to avoid getting junk mail as well as companies that you have accounts with being allowed to share your information. When you get a policy update letter from any company or service you use, review it.

One of the most important issues that is rarely discussed is not to put outgoing mail in your mailbox, especially if your mailbox is next to the street. It’s easy for a criminal to cruise down a suburban street and see all of the cars gone and all of the little red flags on the mailboxes up. There’s a pretty good chance that a lot of those little red flags mean there are checks and account numbers sitting there, unguarded, and all they have to do is drive by and grab them. Send any outgoing mail in a standalone post office box if possible, or drop it off at the post office.

Another key point with the mail: thieves use change of address cards to divert mail to another location and get your information. Some accounts will alert you that your information has changed; most will not. Be aware.

There is a lot more information that you should educate yourself on in order to really protect yourself. Do NOT take the lazy way out and think it’s too hard. You WILL make yourself an easy target.