Danger is lurking around us anywhere we go today regardless of the time of day. Whether out on the streets, inside the home or office or even on the internet, nobody is totally safe from the works of fraudulent people. But with vigilance and by taking the necessary steps, there will always be a way to avoid any kind of fraud in our lives.

Identity theft is the one fraud people should protect themselves against. Identity theft has been rising like wildfire over the last few years and is even more prevalent in hard economic times. The widespread use of the internet has also heightened the problem to mammoth proportions. Stealing a persons identity is usually achieved through gaining access to their social security numbers, bank accounts and credit card numbers and then using these to purchase products and services under you name.

Experts point out that the most dangerous type of identity theft fraud involves new accounts. This happens when a thief opens a new account whether for a credit card or a bank transaction using your name and then causing damage to your credit report by making large expenses, for instance. Eventually, victims would just be surprised over the huge bill on their credit card which they have to pay.

Studies have shown that some of the internet hackers doing this kind of fraudulent work are in fact related to the victims. These criminals who keep watch of their victims habits may either be in big financial mess themselves or into drugs.

Although the danger is up, people can take steps to avoid identity theft. Remember, its imperative to be extra careful at all times and keep your credit card, social security or bank account numbers to yourself. Never disclose those numbers including PINs (personal identification numbers) to anybody or leave them on your computer for hackers to find.

Checking your credit report on a regular basis can catch questionable transactions. If you should find dubious charges made by someone else, you may file for a free fraud alert good for three months with one of the reporting agencies and it will take charge of relaying the information to the other bureaus.

Computer shoppers can also protect their privacy by deleting their internet history. By doing this, your previous computer behavior will no longer be exposed leaving no chance for hackers to obtain your personal or financial information. Having credit card numbers stored on the computer is not a very good idea and will put you at risk.

Another solution is to pay for an identity theft protection plan offered by credit card firms, banks and data brokers. These usually include insurance plans and services that watch your credit status. With insurance plans, theft cases are typically reimbursed while with credit monitoring services, a client gets alerted when new information about him or her materializes in one of the credit reporting agencies.

Additionally, the latest thats offered today on the internet is a downloadable privacy control software. This protects your computer from adwares, malwares and other threats and totally deletes internet history that the delete button fails to do. The software is compatible with any type of web browser so its really very easy to use.

With more than 8 million people expected to become victims of identity theft, dont take any chances. Act now and dont be one of these millions.