You are more likely to lose your Identity to theft than you are to get into a car accident. How scary is that?! If you haven't yet lost your Identity, I'm sure you know someone who has. And there are so many FREE ways to protect yourself.

The number one most important way is to never carry your Social Security card in your wallet. It's so easy for someone to steal your wallet, and if your SSN is in the wrong hands, it can be dangerous. The thief can open new credit cards, fill out loan applications, get a mortgage...You should only carry your SS card if absolutely necessary.

Monitor your credit reports. Everyone is entitled to one free report every 12 months from each of the credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax). All you have to do is call! Their contact information is on their websites...Take a look at your report and check for any discrepancies or irregularities. If all is good, great! If not, then you can call the bureaus and dispute any information and even place Fraud Alerts on your reports. Fraud Alerts mean that the bureaus have to call you anytime a new account is opened, just to verify that you are the one opening the account.

Monitor your credit card statements, just to make sure there are no charges that you don't recognize. Anytime you buy something online, you are taking a risk. Most big sites such as Amazon.com or Ebay.com are extremely secure, but there's no way (yet) to completely thief-proof a site. So just beware. Even when you use your card at a physical store or an ATM, it's scary because thieves have found ways to steal numbers through their machines as well.

I don't want to scare you or make you paranoid. But in the case of Identity theft, the more you know, the better. And there are companies out there who help you and do all of this for you; I should know, I work for one! Check us out: www.identitytruth.com. I don't want this to be an advertisement, but I do want everyone to be aware that Identity theft is becoming a large crime, and to protect themselves against it. Keep your Identity safe! It's all yours and no one else's!