In our current times, most of us use the Internet to purchase our items, conduct our personal banking and pay our bills online. In most instances our transactions are safe and secure and the risk is low. However, even the most SSL encripted websites on the Internet are not foolproof. To help you in the fight against identity theft and fraud, we assembled this list of tips to protect your credit from potential crooks.

Always be cautious when giving out your Social Security number to, we all know this is the large piece of information searched for by identity theft criminals. A general rule of thumb to follow should be: Only provide your Social Security number to trusted individuals and/or companies with which you have initiated business with. We highly recommend that you do not ever, ever provide your Social Security number via telephone, mail or worst of all email. When applying for any kind of loan, simply request that your Social Security number be kept private or even blocked out on the application papers. Furthermore, you should monitor the lender`s use of your credit report. Ask the lender/loan officer who pulls your credit report to destroy the credit report copy after it has been reviewed.

You should never have your Social Security number printed on your checks.

Shred all old paperwork and mail that has personal or financial information on it prior to disposing of it. Reports show that identity thieves will dig through dumpsters and trash cans to find important personal information.

List all account numbers, expiration dates and telephone numbers for each credit card you own and keep them in a safe place, this will save you a lot of time if you every lose your purse or wallet.

Always make sure to review your credit card statement each and every month before paying them. Go over each charge and make sure they are valid charges.

Subscribing to a credit monitoring service will notify you each time someone applies for credit in your name. Find a monitoring service that will report in real time. Stay away from the companies report only monthly, this will not allow you sufficient time to stop possible identity theft.

You should be aware of the term "phishing", this is a new term but one you have to be aware of. This tactic consists of credit thieves using email that is fraudulent to attempt to steal your personal information. "Phishing" emails will appear to come from a legitimate business like a bank or another financial institutions, but are often hard to decifer from the real thing.

Most of the emails involving "phishing" will require you to update of your personal and financial information, and provides a link. Normally, the “phishers” will ask for information such as your password or pin number, credit card validation code, credit card/debit card number, bank account number and Social Security number. To trick you into providing them this information, the bad guys usually include a warning that they will cancel your account if you do not update your information right away.

If you do click the link inbedded in the email, you will be forwarded to a Website that looks legitimate but is not! This scheme is designed to capture your information unwitting.

If you have a feeling you may have been victimized by identity theft or fraud, we encourage you to visit the FTC`s “Take Charge: Fight Back Against Identity Theft. This federal government webpage offers advice on fighting back against identity theft.