Last week I covered 10 tips to help you prevent identity theft, but since it is an important topic, I wanted to highlight a few more quick tips. This has become an important topic around where I live lately as there has been a string of reports where people have had their bank accounts cleaned out thanks to some thieves. You can never be too cautious when it comes to your personal and financial information. Here are a few more quick tips and reminders to help prevent you from becoming a victim:

• Shred or tear up pre-approved credit card offers, bills, canceled checks, bank statements, and other documents that contain personal or financial information before putting them in the trash.
• When using an ATM, make sure nobody can see the numbers you punch in. If somebody is behind you, shield your hand when entering information.
• Don't carry your PIN numbers with you, and never give your PIN to another person.
• Never give out your credit card number to anyone who calls you unsolicited.
• Guard your Social Security number. Don't give it out to salesmen, vendors, or others who have no legal need for it.
• Don't carry your Social Security card with you.
• Don't use your mother's maiden name, your birth date, or the last four digits of your Social Security number as a password on credit card or bank accounts. This information is too easy to obtain and can be used by thieves to access your accounts.
• Use a locked mailbox to prevent checks, credit card offers, and other financial information from being stolen.