In the last year alone, nearly 10 million Americans became victims of identity theft, a crime that cost them approximately $5 billion total. It is the fastest growing crime in the United States, and if you're not careful, it could happen to you, or perhaps it already has. On average, it takes identity theft victims 12 months [PDF] to realize that they have been victimized. So what are the best ways to prevent identity theft? Firstly, you must understand what personal information of yours should be kept private. While some personal information is inevitably going to be made public, there are some items with high sensitivity that should never be made public.

Protecting yourself against identity theft involves nothing more than protecting this personal information, particularly the high sensitivity items. Anyone with knowledge of just one of your high sensitivity items can do a lot of damage. Part of the battle of preventing identity theft is recognizing how this personal information is stolen and from where.