Everytime we pay with a check, credit card or debit card we create a paper trail. A thief won’t need our bank statement or credit card because in the course of a year we’re leaving 100s of pieces of paper containing important information all over the place.

Paying cash=no paper trail=no check routing numbers to spy, no PIN numbers in the wrong hands, no card imprints to steal.

We can never completely eliminate identity theft risk, but can certainly minimize it.

One thing to be on the watch out is shoulder surfers. These are innocent looking people who view the personal information you use to write a check, use an ATM, or pay with a credit card. They are skilled at memorizing the information they see very quickly.

They often look like the mother with a kid, a college student, or business professional. Take out a check to pay at a grocery store and all they need is a quick second to memorize the routing number and account number at the bottom of the check and now they have access to your checking account.

Pay with a credit card and the shoulder surfer could be looking at the social security card that you have unknowingly exposed as you open your wallet (Please don’t keep your social security card in your wallet).

Grand Central station in New York is having a problem with shoulder surfers watching people entering their pin numbers and then stepping over to the ATM when the user walks away without ending the session.

Best Wishes,
D4L

People go in after their library cards and the SS card is just plainly visible in the wallet.

I can understand the need to bring it on your first day of work for HR, but after that it should be somewhere safe.

@Michael
Great comment – thanks for sharing all that info…