Harris Interactive and Wall Street Journal surveyed Americans on which steps they have taken to prevent identity theft.
| Steps taken to prevent identity theft | |||||
| Income | |||||
| Total | <$35K | <$49.9K | <$74.9K | $75K+ | |
| Watch for suspicious activity on accounts |
73 | 64 | 79 | 80 | 78 |
| Shred mail that has my account numbers |
72 | 62 | 74 | 77 | 77 |
| Limit access to my Social Security number |
69 | 66 | 73 | 67 | 68 |
| Check my credit reports | 41 | 34 | 33 | 37 | 53 |
| Limit the purchases I make online |
30 | 31 | 41 | 26 | 24 |
| Limit my online banking transactions |
24 | 22 | 27 | 24 | 21 |
| Signed up for a credit-monitoring service |
8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 11 |
| Other | 5 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| I have not taken any steps to prevent identity theft. |
8 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 5 |
| Source: Harris Interactive | |||||