As a Millennial, technology plays a leading role in your everyday life. What you may not realize, however, is that your level of comfort with technology puts you at a higher risk for identity theft.

Even though many websites require security questions as well as a password to gain access, the truth is that answers to common security questions like your mother’s maiden name, favorite color, and the name of your elementary school are easily found on your Facebook page. It’s no surprise, then, that Americans between the ages of 20-29 comprise 15% of identity theft complaints.

With a new identity fraud victim every 2 seconds, you don’t want to become a statistic. Here’s what you need to know as a Millennial to protect yourself from identity theft.

What is identity theft?

Identity theft is a blanket term that spans many different areas. At its most basic level, it involves using fraud to uncover a person’s private identifying information and then using it for financial gain. Some identity thieves spend time sifting through trash bins looking for bank account and credit card statements, while others default to more high-tech methods such as hijacking corporate databases to access customer information. This stolen information is generally used in these four common ways:

Criminal identity theft: Someone misrepresenting themselves as another person during an arrest to avoid a summons or to prevent the discovery of a warrant issued.
Medical identity theft: A person seeking medical care in someone else’s name trying to avoid the high price of health care costs.
Financial identity theft: When someone opens a credit card in your name and racks up debt buying different items or invests in services or benefits.
Child identity theft: Thieves often prey on a family member or child of a friend, and use the child’s name and Social Security number to rent a home, gain employment, get loans, or avoid arrest on outstanding warrants.

How Identity Theft Affects Millennials

The threat of falling victim to identity theft grows as we become more comfortable sharing information and conducting business online. Those who have a middle-to-lower income have a more difficult time recovering from identity theft, especially when it involves losing money. While the national average income for workers between ages 35 and 65 is $40,346, those under age 35 average substantially less than that, making getting your life back harder for Millennials.

With credit checks being the norm for approval of renting a home or apartment, you might have to postpone moving or miss out on buying your dream home. Even your job or college education could become jeopardized by identity theft if you take too much time off to deal with the damage.

How Millennials can protect themselves online

Safeguarding your identity and avoiding theft altogether is ideal. Even though you’re at a higher risk, there are ways to protect yourself online. If you’re considering identity theft insurance, note that they’re not all equal.

With Millennials sharing so much information online, the common tools of identity theft insurance are useful, such as credit monitoring to check for fraud. While credit monitoring can alert you to potential problems, making them easier to correct, it does nothing to actually prevent fraud.

Perhaps more beneficial are the identity restoration and reimbursement services often offered through identity theft insurance. Though coverage varies greatly and reimbursable expenses are often limited, it is reassuring to know you have an expert on your side to sort through the messy aftermath of identity theft.

Aside from identity theft insurance, some important ways to shield your information include:

Don’t open too many online accounts. This includes Facebook, Twitter, multiple email accounts and services, customer accounts at online retailers, and more.
Protect your accounts by choosing strong passwords that can’t be guessed, and never share passwords with others.
Don’t be too social on social media. Using Facebook and other social platforms to announce your upcoming vacation, for example, is an open invitation for thieves to target your residence.
Never, ever click links in emails unless you can explicitly confirm it’s sent by someone you know and trust. This can unleash viruses, keyloggers, or phishing scams that compromise your information and accounts.
Frequently monitor your credit report for inaccuracies and fraudulent accounts. While there are many paid options for credit monitoring, you can see all three of your credit reports for free on the government’s credit reporting website.
When job searching, don’t list your street address on your resume. You may also want to get a temporary cell phone number to put on your resume and create a different email address to further separate your personal and professional life.

Even though you’re tech-savvy from having grown up on computers and social media, don’t get too comfortable with it. The threat of identity theft is real and technology is the leading cause of information leaks that lead to identity theft. Carefully consider the information you share online, use strong passwords, and avoid accessing bank and financial accounts from public wi-fi connections to protect yourself. Monitor your credit report often and don’t hesitate to take action if you suspect you’ve fallen victim to identity theft.

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