No identity thief cares that there are dirty diapers in your trash. They know all about soap and can hold their breath. Finding your bank account or credit card number is worth the momentary discomfort of rotting food and smelly diapers. Most people take their trash to the curb the evening before trash pickup. Think about the number of people who will handle that trash who are paid to.

Do people pick through the trash in your neighborhood?
People toss out a lot of items that another would find useful. Trash picking can even be a way of earning a living to some people. They look for metal and other recyclable and resale materials. If you have never been trash picking, you may be missing out on some great finds. In this day and age though, you would do well to let them find nothing that could lead to becoming the victim of identity theft.

All homes should be equipped with a paper shredder.
This will do away with the need to worry about anything you put out on garbage day falling into the wrong hands. Do not use a straight-line shredder. Invent in a cross cut shredder so that the pieces cannot be put back together again. Shredders leave everything that passes through them lumped together in the attached receptacle. Putting them back together from a straight-line shred is no harder than working a jigsaw puzzle.

If burning is allowed in your neighborhood, this is even better. You don't have to burn the whole document, just the part that has account numbers, social security numbers or any other information that would be handy to an identity thief. By burning them, you are completely assured that no one could ever piece it back together again. A wood-burning fireplace would work just fine for this purpose.

Go electronic on any statement you can do so.
There are far too many sensitive documents left in your mailbox. Most financial institutions and telephone companies offer electronic statements. Not only is this a safer way for you to access your records, it is better for the environment. Electronic statements are a far more sustainable and green mode of living that paper ones that waste trees.

Do not leave you mail sit in the mailbox any longer than necessary. Identity thieves can just drive up and sift through your mail while you are still at work. Opt-out of all pre-approved credit card offers, these are full of personal information. Don't have refill check orders delivered to your home. Check reprints can be sent to your bank and safely stored until you claim them. There are many sensitive papers that many people don't even realize is just sitting out there on the curb like ripe fruit just asking to be picked.

Knowing what to safeguard will help you prevent identity theft. Everything you need to know is easily accessed in one spot. Armed with complete information or just the right program, you will not make an easy victim of an identity crime.