Do you have any tips for easy-to-remember, truly ‘secret’ passwords? I know what not to use – birthdates and anniversaries, social security numbers, initials, etc. – but what can I use, that I will be able to recall, that someone else would never figure out?

Gabby, Victim Advisor at the Identity Theft Resource Center, explains "shoulder surfing" and discusses options for smartphone security. Also shared is a case of reputation-damaging social media content.

There are two possible takeaways from the title of this post. Either, the instruction is to shred rather than trash, or, you should infer that there’s value in saving bills and receipts. I believe both statements to be true.

Remember the days when a phone was for calling people? Well, those days are long gone now. One of the necessities the smartphone has taken on to replace is the wallet. A smartphone has already challenged the necessity of regular phones, computers, camcorders, cameras and GPS devices, so why not a wallet too?

Highlights from a recent FBI identity theft case. This article outlines the charges being brought against two individuals for an identity theft scheme allegedly affecting nearly 90 individuals.

While we are all aware that computers retain information from their users, a public computer user may not consider just how dangerous that information could be in the wrong hands. Retained Internet history, passwords or social network log-in credentials provide an excellent opportunity for identity thieves to access all of the information they will need to steal the user’s identity. However, following the tips below can help decrease the risk of becoming the target of identity thieves:

Popular online retailer Zappos.com has informed over 24 million customers that the database storing their personal information was hacked. Among the data that may have been accessed are customers' names, e-mail addresses, billing and shipping addresses, phone numbers, the last four digits of consumers' credit card numbers and cryptographically scrambled passwords (but not the actual password).

Allowing our children the innocence of their childhood is paramount to us as parents. Because our children are pretty much the center of our universe, we want to do everything in our power to keep them safe and to safeguard their futures. From an identity theft perspective, why are our children, the very people we most want to protect, so vulnerable?

New Year’s Resolution season only comes around once a year, carrying with it enough importance and potential to make it worth writing about more than once. Along with the impulse to break bad habits, now is the time to take on new habits to help protect yourself against identity theft.

It all started with an apartment search. Stephanie became the vicitim of identity theft after providing her SSN to what appeared to be a legitimate property management company.