9 easy ways shoppers can avoid ID theft!

In Episode #34, we talk about something all of us fear: Thieves getting a hold of your personal info and then spending a ton of money in your name and destroying your credit—or even stealing your tax refund! (Remember that hilariously terrifying movie Identity Thief with Melissa McCarthy?). In 2018 alone, there were data breaches at Best Buy, Saks, Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, Adidas, Sears, Kmart, and Marriott, affecting hundreds of millions of consumers. If you weren't touched by these data-security meltdowns, odds are the mother of all breaches—the Equifax debacle—put you at risk.

The good news is that there are simple things you can do to protect yourself from the growing threat of ID theft. We cover nine basics that all shoppers should know in this episode. (Resources we mention include: CNET password manager ratings, How-to Geek's article on passwords, annualcreditreport.com, USPS informed delivery, and IdentityTheft.gov.)

In this episode we also cover:

• The secrets of secret shopper scams. (Sites we mention include BBB.org and an article on ConsumerReports.org written by our friend Tobie Stanger.)

• Cool new retailer augmented reality technology that make it easier to shop for furniture, glasses, clothing, makeup, and more.

• The Konjac sponge.