6 . Make your passwords strong and unique . Passwords often act as both your first and last lines of defense against information theft . A strong password should be fairly long and use both numbers and symbols in addition to letters . If you have trouble remembering all of those complex passwords , use a password manager .
7 . Enable two-factor authentication . Two-factor authentication , or 2FA , creates a secondary wall that ' s harder to bypass than a password alone . Enable it on your online accounts whenever possible .
Identity theft is serious business , and it often goes much further than just losing a credit card and making a few phone calls . But there is hope . Use the knowledge in this article to keep your private information private and your identity secure .