How do I protect myself from identity theft?

Identity theft protection services cannot prevent fraud, but consumers can take practical steps to reduce their vulnerability to criminals.

Credit freezes at major bureaus and strong online security practices offer better protection than monitoring services alone provide.

Regular monitoring of financial accounts and limiting personal information shared on social media are essential defensive measures.

Dear Liz: I am regularly notified by my identity theft protection service that there has been a data breach somewhere where my data is stored. I don’t know what in the world I’m supposed to do about this. I try to follow all the recommended precautions, but I also wonder: now that all Social Security data is somewhere in the cloud under some mystery person’s control, is it even worth tr