Scams cannot be talked about enough because people continue to be victimized.

Learning more about identity theft can help you keep your personal info safe. Jack Myers with Social Security says there are two types of identity theft and that is thieves stealing your data physically or digitally, without contacting you directly, or thieves contacting you directly and convincing you to provide sensitive info or money.

If you are a victim of identity theft, you may never know how it happened if they didn’t contact you directly. According to Myers, if they contacted you directly and stole your money, the impact is immediately clear.  Thieves can do a lot of things if your identity is compromised, like buy items with your credit cards or bank accounts, obtain new credit in your name, or use your SSN to get a job.

To prevent yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft, Myers recommends keeping track of your mail for missing bills or other documents, reviewing credit card and bank statements for unauthorized transactions, and obtaining and reviewing your credit reports regularly to make sure they do not include accounts you have not opened.

Next week on Regional Radio, we'll from Myers on how to prevent identity theft from happening to you but also what to know if it does happen. In the meantime, visit annualcreditreport.com or identitytheft.gov for more information.