Detect if you've been a victim of identity theft

ID thieves are sneaky. What may seem like an innocent mix-up could be a clue that your personal information has been compromised. Be sure to check your credit report annually and possibly use a credit monitoring service. Clues to watch out for:

• Your credit report lists aliases (variations on the spelling of your name), addresses at which you have never lived, accounts you have never held, and/or inquiries from companies to which you have not applied for credit, insurance, or a job.
• You don't receive your credit card or bank account statement. A thief may have changed your address in order to use your bank accounts without raising suspicion.
• You receive bills for accounts you didn't open, such as a cell phone or credit card.
• You receive medical bills or health insurance benefit statements for medical procedures you've never had.
• A debt collector calls about a bill that doesn't belong to you.
• Your annual Social Security statement lists income you didn't earn.
• Someone calls to "confirm" information about one of your accounts or warn you about fraud, and asks for personal information or account details, such as your Personal Identification Number (PIN) or the three-digit security code on the back of your credit card.