 TITLE: How to Protect Your Identity After a Burglary CONTENT: How Your Personal Data Can Be Stolen From Your Home\n---------------------------------------------------\nOnce in your home, there are a number of places a thief can find your personal data:\n*   **Mail**: A thief may grab paper statements sent from your bank, credit card issuer or deposit accounts. This mail contains valuable information the thief can use to buy things online and over the phone, or make duplicate cards to shop from brick-and-mortar stores. Mail that contains your Social Security number and date of birth (which is typically on letters from the IRS, medical providers and the Social Security Administration) is also highly prized by identity thieves.\n*   **Laptop or computer**: If your laptop or computer is not password-protected, anybody in possession of it has a window into your stored information. To find it, somebody could search your hard drive for keywords, such as \"credit card accounts,\" \"medical insurance\" and \"2018 taxes.\" If login information for online retailers is saved in your browser, that can also be used.\n*   **Private documents**: There is plenty of other paperwork you definitely do not want a stranger to access. Such documents include:\n    *   Birth certificates and Social Security cards\n    *   Passports and expired driver's licenses\n    *   Estate planning paperwork\n    *   Tax returns\n    *   Property deeds and home appraisals\n    *   Banking and investment documents\n    *   Marriage certificates, divorce papers and adoption forms\nThe more of your personal identification information a thief has, the easier it will be to \"become\" you. To open new credit card accounts, for example, the person will apply with your name, Social Security number and birth date, but will list their own mailing address. The card will be sent to them, and after using it, they won't pay the bill. Because the account is associated with your name and Social Security number, it will show up on your consumer credit report. You may not learn about the crime until you check your credit report, only to find a large and unpaid debt in your name. END