Identity Theft and the Things We Carry: Credit Cards

In my previous post, I started the first of a few posts on what we carry with us everyday can make us more appealing as potential victims of identity theft. While your Social Security card is something you shouldn't carry in your wallet unless you know you will need it, credit cards are a little more complicated because you are more likely to need them on a daily basis.

Of course, most of us carry credit cards for daily purchases when we are short on cash, but how many do you need to carry everyday? You will be less likely to notice if one you don't use often goes missing from your wallet or if the bill is re-routed to a different address. Pull out credit cards you are least likely to use and put them in a safe place at home only to be used when you know you'll need them. If you have any you never use or rarely use, you may even want to consider canceling it. An unused account, once discovered, is a gold mine for an identity thief.

Something else to consider would be to keep a list of all your credit card account numbers and the phone numbers necessary to cancel them. Don't carry this in your wallet, but keep it in a safe place. Then if your wallet is stolen, you can call the credit card companies to report the theft and cancel the card before too much damage is done.