The Scam: Like raccoons, crooks aren’t above rooting through garbage looking for goodies.”They rummage through trash looking for bills or other paper with your personal information on it,” the FTC warns in an online publication focusing on identity theft. This method of stealing information is old-school, but experts say criminals still use it because it still works.
Avoid It By: Shred personal documents and credit card offers before throwing them away, and wipe hard drives clean before you get rid of computers or smartphones.