Courtesy of Ora DeMorrow

After watching a CBS Evening News segment on the dangers of copiers in workplaces, retail locations, and offices that retain personal information to establish insurance, bank, and other accounts, I was appalled at how exposed we are without even realizing it. Here are a few examples of where your identity is vulnerable:

Gas stations

A few years back, two clerks at neighboring gas stations collaborated, installing skimmers on a single pump at each station. In one day, they managed to empty 650 bank accounts of people who had paid using their bank debit cards and PIN numbers.

What is a skimmer? A skimmer is a small electronic device installed to swipe and store hundreds of victims’ credit card numbers and PIN numbers. The device is put over the card input slot and closely resembles a standard card slot. Take the following steps to protect yourself:

• Use secure card reader machines under video surveillance. They’re less likely to be tampered with.

• Pay careful attention to what the card reader and keypad normally look like on the machines you use most frequently.

• Don’t use an automated gas machine if the card reader appears to be added on, fits poorly, or is loose. Some thieves place a fake box over the card slot that reads and records account and PIN numbers.

• Call the customer service number on the gas machine immediately if it appears suspect or if it does not function properly.

Printers and copiers

Nearly every digital copier built since 2002 contains a hard drive, storing an image of every document copied, scanned, or emailed by the machine. This has turned a standard business tool into a digital time bomb loaded with highly personal or sensitive data.

These copier hard drives are the same kind of data storage device found in your computer. Used to reproduce documents, these seemingly innocuous machines—which are commonly used to spit out copies of tax returns, medical cards, employee records, and more for millions of Americans—can retain the data being scanned.

Identity thieves easily remove the drives from workplace copiers and, more commonly, abandoned ones considered worthless and left as trash by businesses moved or gone under. As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. The money is on the hard drive left inside.

The bottom line? Invest in a good-quality multifunction printer/copier and copy as much as possible at home. Hint: Make a copy of your medical card at home, and bring it to your doctor’s office. Show them the original card, and hand them the copy, instead of having the ID copied there. If you can’t avoid using outside establishments, ensure that they have installed encryption devices, which greatly lessen the chance of information theft.

Pre-approved credit card offers

Most of us get pre-approved credit or debit card offers in the mail weekly. We tend to just ignore these come-ons, flipping them into the trash as we sift through our mail. But now is the time to pay attention to them and be sure to safely dispose of all such offers.

Do not toss pre-approved credit offers in your trash or recycling bin without first tearing them into very small pieces or shredding them with a diamond cut shredder. They can be used by "dumpster divers" to order credit cards in your name and mail them to their address. This is especially easy since all an identity thief has to do to get all your mail is to fill out a simple change of address card at the post office, hand it to a clerk, and walk out without providing proof of identification.

Make it a habit to shred all sensitive information, period. We’re talking credit card receipts, phone bills, bank account statements, investment account reports, and so on. Home shredders can be purchased in most office supply stores.

The smartest solution

There are too many ways to be victimized to implement every possible measure to secure your identity, and you can’t live life in a bubble. Just do what you can manage to minimize exposure, and consider a monitoring, protection, and restoration service such as Identity Theft Shield. They are typically monthly subscriptions costing between $10 and $20. The cost is well worth the peace of mind!