Quicken Personal Checks

Identity theft is the unauthorized taking of somebody's personal information. Thieves do this to get credit or credit cards, to steal money from accounts, or to apply for loans in other people's names. All they need to do this is information that you have on your personal checks, whether they're preprinted from a bank or done at home on Quicken.

To protect yourself, you should shred anything that has your information on it before you throw it in the trash. Never print your social security number or birthdate on your checks. Guard your phone number and other personal information like your driver's license number and your mother's maiden name.

Stealing Information in Public

Thieves do not perform identity theft simply by picking through your garbage. They also collect it from public places. For example, you might enter your ATM pin while somebody is standing over your shoulder memorizing it. Or, you might give your credit card number over your cell phone while making a catalog purchase as you are sitting on a park bench. Thieves eavesdrop and memorize the numbers.

Thieves also steal personal checks, cash some of them, and use the routing and account numbers to have new checks printed in their names. They can easily clean out an account this way. In order to avoid having your identity stolen, guard your personal information carefully. Do not put it on any documents where it is not necessary. Watch yourself in public, and shred all of your bills before throwing them away.