Keep important documents at home. Don’t carry extra credit cards, national ID cards or passports outside the house can help minimize your risk of identity theft.

Pick up cheques in person. When ordering new cheques, pick them up at the bank instead of having them sent to your home. This makes it harder for your cheques to be stolen, altered, and cashed by identity thieves.

Think before you share. Identity thieves may call you posing as bank or government agency official. Do not give out personal information over the phone unless you initiated the call.

Invest in a shredder. Shred your receipts, credit card offers, bank statements, returned cheques, and any other sensitive information before throwing it away.

Cover your bases. Ensure that your employer, landlord and anyone else with access to your personal data keeps your records safe.

Don’t use weak passwords. Using passwords that include a mix of letters, numbers and special characters makes it harder for identity thieves to crack these codes.

Update your software when prompted. Software updates usually address security vulnerabilities. Keeping your system updated with the newest patches is vital to stay protected from malicious activity.