What should I do to protect myself?

What's the best way to protect myself from identity theft?

• An person with a history of ID theft may have gotten ahold of some of my identity information. I want to do all that I can to stop them from stealing my identity. Okay, first I'll give the relevant bits, and then I'll tell the full story, for those who are interested. The relevant details : I was looking for an apartment to rent in NYC. I gave out my identity information to a real estate broker. I later found out that the broker has the same name as a convicted criminal with a history of ID theft. Here's the information I gave them : * My name, phone number, and previous address * My social security number * The name of the bank I use for my checking account (I did not give away the account number) * My yearly salary * A rough idea of how much I have in my savings account (which is at a different bank. I did not give away the name of the bank where my savings account is) * I let the broker take a picture of my driver's license with their cell phone What's the best way to protect myself from ID theft? The person with the same name as this broker has a history of opening up credit cards in other peoples' names and charging up thousands of dollars in debt. I've also heard horror stories about criminals buying houses in other peoples' names and then selling the houses! I'm really scared and freaking out right now. What can I do to protect myself? I know there are services like LifeLock that provide identity protection, and I know that the big three credit reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) provide similar services. However, I've heard these services are not very effective. The full story (for those who are interested) : A real estate broker showed me an apartment that looked good, so I gave them my info so that they could run a credit check. The situation seemed pretty normal to me, except for the following things : the broker took a picture of my driver's license, they emailed me from their personal email address, and they asked for a deposit on the apartment in cash (they said they wouldn't take a check). The broker also said something weird -- that they don't use ATMs because someone had stolen their identity once and ran up thousands of dollars in credit card charges. I gave them the $65 to do the credit check, but did not give any money for a deposit on the apartment. It smelled funny to me, so I went home and googled the broker. Most of the results were for real estate stuff, but one of the results was a newspaper article about someone with the broker's name who'd been convicted of multiple counts of ID theft. These crimes involved opening credit cards in other peoples' names. This was in a different city, and the article did not include a picture of the criminal. However, I began to freak out. I called the real estate company that the broker worked for, and started to make inquiries. The company confirmed that the broker did work there, and was a licensed real estate agent. The broker's company seems to be a reputable business. However, I was not able to find the broker's real estate license through the New York State online search tool. The broker later emailed me from their work email address, and then called me to try and straighten out the situation. I told them about the google result I found online, about the criminal with their name who was convicted of identity theft. The broker said they were not aware of this person or their crimes. The broker didn't sound guilty, but they didn't really convince me either. Some of the things they said didn't sound right. So I told the broker I was no longer interested in the apartment, and I asked them to please destroy all the information they had about me, including the picture of my driver's licence. I told them to just keep the $65 I gave them for the credit check. I mentioned that I had requested my credit report from one of the big credit reporting agencies. The broker was pretty understanding, and thanked me for alerting them to the situation about the google results. The next day, the managing director of the broker's company called me. They assured me that the broker was a licensed real estate salesperson, and that the state doesn't give real estate licenses to people who were convicted of crimes. They assured me that the broker was reputable. They said that the broker should have brought me into the office to get a copy of my driver's license and fill out the credit check form, but that the broker was in a hurry. They also said that getting a cash deposit is standard procedure since they've had problems with peoples' checks bouncing. I asked if they do background checks on their employees, and he said that he doesn't do them personally, but that the company does do them. I thanked him for his time, but said that I was still not interested in the apartment, and I requested that they destroy any information they have about me. So, who knows if this broker is a criminal or not? It may just be a case of mistaken identity, but the whole thing made me really scared. If the broker is a criminal, at very least, I'm hoping that they don't target me, since they know that I'm on the lookout for shady activity in my credit. Also, the broker's employer has been notified, so they'll hopefully be on the lookout for shady activity. Regardless, ID theft is a big problem, and regardless of whether or not this broker was a criminal, I want to protect myself as best as possible.

• Answer:

  http://www.transunion.com/personal-credit/credit-disputes/fraud-alerts.page.