A person should remember that when they are applying for a loan or doing any other type of banking that their bank will never call them or email them to get personal information or information about their account. Banks already have this information and a person should never give important numbers or other information to anyone emailing or calling, not matter how official it looks or sounds.

Monitor

To keep their identity protected it is important for a person to monitor their credit card and bank transactions often. This will help them catch any unauthorized use. Many times thieves that have stolen someone's identity will begin small to see if they are even noticed.

Paperless

A person can help keep their identity protected by not getting bank information about loans or credit card etc in the mail. Going paperless can keep their personal information safe.

Computer

When a person is doing online banking, they should do it only on their own computer. A public computer and wireless internet are not as secure.

Wallet and PDA

To make sure their identity is protected, a person should keep a record of everything they carry around in their wallet and even in their PDA as well. Some people keep account numbers in their wallet. If their wallet were to get stolen it is essential that they know what numbers and information was in their wallet at the time that it was taken from them.

Social Security Card

A person should never keep their Social Security card (or even any card with their Social Security number on it) in their wallet. It is very important for a person to keep a social security card away from someone who could steal their identity.

ATM

If a person needs to use an ATM, they should look for suspicious devices that are on the ATM. It is best to use an ATM at the actual bank. A person using an ATM should also watch for people standing close by them as they are using the ATM. When the person is finished using the ATM they should take their card and their receipt with them. It is important that they never leave the receipt there or accidentally leave their card. To protect a person's identity, it is also important that they do not keep their PIN in their wallet. A PIN needs to be memorized.

Cell phones

To protect personal financial information, a person should not keep this information on their cell phone. If someone were to lose their cell phone, or sell it, it can give away personal financial information that is kept on the phone even if the person selling the phone thought they have erased the information by resetting the phone. There is actually software that can bring the "erased" information back.

Emails from strangers

To protect their identity, a person should never open an email from strangers. This can compromise their computer and give away vital information to crooks. This goes for attachments as well. A person shouldn't open the attachments that are from people they don't know.

Keep passwords safe

Passwords should be at least six characters long, with at least one capital letter, and at least one number and symbol. A person should not use their name or other personal information in their password and they should use a different password for each of their bank accounts and other sites. Changing the password often is another important thing to do to protect identity.