Each year more than 100,000 people are affected by identity theft. Criminals get a hold of your personal details and they then apply for bank accounts in your name, credit cards that you didn't authorise, benefits that are rightly yours, and official documents in your name they have no right to. There are ways to protect yourself from identity theft, and they are well worth adding into your daily bill writing and financial life. Identity theft can leave you thousands of pounds in debt and ruin your life for years while you try to get it sorted out.

Many thieves get your personal information by digging through your garbage and lifting discarded documents, letters, and receipts from your trash. They can also call you on the phone or e-mail you pretending to be a reputable organisation in an effort to get your personal information. To protect yourself from these people you should:

• Shred any personal information or correspondence that includes any banking information, insurance details, salary information and old banking cards before throwing away.
• Delete e-mails from organisations that ask for personal information from you. Most legitimate organisations will not ask you for this information via e-mail.
• Make sure you do not give out your personal information to people that you suspect are not who they say they are. Thieves are very adept at copying letterhead and e-mail addresses to make them look real.
• If you are moving to a new house, tell your bank, all of your creditors and the Royal Mail in advance of the move so that all of your mail is redirected to the new address when appropriate.
• If you think your mail has gone missing, contact the Royal Mail immediately.

If you think you have become a target or victim of identity theft, you need to alert the local authorities immediately. Signs that you have become a victim include:

• Missing mail such as regular bank and credit card statements that suddenly stop coming in the mail
• Tampering with your rubbish bags or rubbish bags disappearing completely
• Sudden mail about things that you have not purchased or signed up for
• Bank statements suddenly having payments or direct debits on it that were not incurred by you

Immediately apply for a copy of your credit report from the three main credit reference agencies in the United Kingdom if you think your identity has been stolen. As soon as you receive it go through it line by line looking for items that are not yours or that you did not authorise. Contact both the credit agency and the creditor listed on the credit report and report to them that the listing is false and you believe your identity has been stolen. They will open up an investigation into the matter.

Make sure you contact the authorities as soon as possible if you believe your trash has been tampered with, and notify the Royal Mail immediately if you stop receiving mail that you know you should be getting.