Tips to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

Chances are you’ve received letters in the mail warning you of a data breach that may have put your private information at risk. By the time you’ve received your third or fourth letter, you’re surely left wondering what you can do to protect yourself from identity theft.

It’s a helpless feeling knowing how much damage identity theft can cause. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 2.6 million American consumers submitted fraud reports in 2024, and they lost more than $12.5 billion to that fraud.

So, what can you do?

Protect Your Identity From Theft

Rob LaMagna-Reiter, Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer at WoodmenLife, oversees our efforts to protect both customer data and corporate data. He has advice on how to guard against fraud and identity theft.

“Annually, we should get into the habit of requesting a free credit report from all three credit reporting agencies,” he said.

Use these reports to make sure your information is accurate and up to date. Also, review them to make sure no one has misused your credit.

The FTC also suggests:

• Track what bills you owe and when they’re due. If you stop getting a bill, that could be a sign that someone changed your billing address and may be misusing your information as an identity thief.
• Review your bills. Charges for things you didn’t buy could be a sign of identity theft. So could a new bill you didn’t expect.
• Check your bank account statement. Withdrawals you didn’t make could be a sign of identity theft.

More You Can Do

Being proactive to protect your identity means keeping certain things in mind during everyday activities. LaMagna-Reiter offered these points to remember:

• Never give your information to someone demanding it by phone, text, or email. This is especially important to remember during tax season. The IRS — or any other government agency — will never ask for information or payments in those ways. They will contact you by mail.
• Always double check that the website or app you’re using is secure. For example, in the Chrome browser, look for the site info link in the beginning of the webpage’s URL. Clicking it will show the secure attributes of the connection.
• Look into using a passkey when logging in to your financial websites. These can include facial recognition and fingerprint readers.
• Properly destroy and dispose of your paperwork with sensitive information. “I mean shredding,” LaMagna-Reiter said. “Dumpster diving is coming back. With most of us doing our banking online and making payments electronically, we’ve gone away from this habit.”
• Beware of phishing. Don’t click on links in suspicious emails, and turn on auto updates on your device.
• Limit the amount of information you share on social media. Phishing appears more authentic due to the amount of information publicly available.
• Beware of credit card skimmers at gas stations and ATMs. These newer skimmers — devices meant to steal card information — are harder to spot, but you can look for what seems like a thin film in the reader.

So, there are things you can do to help protect your identity from theft. Being alert and prepared with this advice is a great first step.

For more information about WoodmenLife and how we can help protect your financial future, visit WoodmenLife.org.

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