This is pretty much akin to putting ones head in the sand.  Sure if it happened you’ll have to deal with it, but why not try to prevent it in the first place?

As I mentioned in my article 5 Reasons Why You Should Care About ID Fraud, [http://truthonidtheft.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-care-about-id-fraud/] you might not become aware that your identity is stolen until you are sitting in the back of a Police car or when the creditor starts to garnish your wages.

Restoring your identity after it has been stolen on average takes between 300 – 800 hours and between $5,000 – $10,000.  Not only that but in some cases it can become a full-time job.  You see it’s not always an easy task to prove that the fraudulent transactions were not done by you but by and identity thief.  The creditor doesn’t really know who you are and it’s now your word against theirs.

Many credit card transactions now days if they are under a certain threshold, don’t even require the salesperson to verify the name on the credit card.  Also if you use a “smart card” that has a radio frequency chip in it, the identity thief can read it while it is still in your pocket by just getting close enough to you.

By following a few simple steps, you can save yourself a lot of headache, money, time and stress.