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If you have a bank account, chances are you have checks. Checks can make it easier for us to do our business transactions on a daily basis. There are many people that use checks everyday and do not even realize that what they are doing is not safe. There are ways to protect you from check identity theft with a few simple procedures.

Many people like to order their checks through the mail. They may get a discount on them and they can get nice designs instead of the plain ones that the bank carries. However some do not feel safe ordering checks anywhere other than their bank. Usually ordering from one of the check companies that are legitimate is safe. You will notice that they have security features that will protect your banking information and you will not have to worry about anyone getting your bank account numbers. If you are not sure if you are on a safe site, you can call their number to be certain.

It is not a good idea to put your home phone number on your checks. You can use a cell phone number to ensure that strangers do not get your home listing. This will help to lower the risk of unwanted callers bothering you at home. You should never list your drivers license number on the check either. Some people have their checks printed with their drivers license or social security number on them. This is a terrible idea!

The only time that you should put these numbers on your checks is if the retailer or place of business that you are writing the check to needs it for some reason. Always question their practices and find out why the need to have the information. You have the right to want to know what they are doing with your personal information. This is only to keep you safe and protect you from any type of check identity fraud. For more great tips download the free Identity Theft Protection Checklist at http://www.identitytheftcreditrepair.net/

You should keep track of your checks and never hand out blank ones. There are some people that will steal blank checks to use for their own personal gain. This is a form of check fraud and it is against the law. Anyone that does this intentionally will be prosecuted and could face serious consequences.

You should check your bank statements and make sure that there are no unusual charges on the accounts. Make sure that you are looking at these statements and using them to keep your bank account safe. If you do not receive a bank statement for a certain month, you should contact your bank. It may be possible that they forgot to send one or the postmaster may have accidentally put it in the wrong mailbox. If this is the case you may want to double-check your account everyday for suspicious behavior.

In this age of the internet and online banking you can keep even closer scrutiny on your account. By monitoring all activity online you will see each transaction much sooner than if you have to wait for the bank to mail the statement once a month. Your ability to detect and react to anything suspicious may be the difference between an inconvenience and a major life altering event. If you don't have a personal computer and must use public computers to bank online be very careful. Always delete your user ID and passwords, log out of your accounts when you finish, and never ask the computer to remember your login information. Failure to heed this advise will leave you terribly vulnerable.

With the right knowledge and follow through actions you can protect yourself from check identity theft and keep your finances safe and secure.

Stay safe. Prevention is MUCH better than recovery!

Clyde Blaco

The author, Clyde Blaco, has personally experienced identity theft and has seen friends and family members suffer consequences of the crime. None of them anticipated or protected themselves from the possibility of identity theft other than taking rudimentary precautions.

It is much easier to take the time to protect yourself before you are a victim than to try to undo the damage that can occur if your stolen identity is used to commit crime and fraud. The reason many people don't behave proactively is because they either don't know or don't believe it will happen to them. After it happens is too late to educate yourself. You will be spending huge amounts of time, money, and energy recovering from the assault!

To learn how to start protecting yourself from identity theft go to http://www.identitytheftcreditrepair.net/ for the free Identity Theft Protection Checklist. For even more free information visit or subscribe to the blog at http://www.identitytheftcreditrepair.net/blog