A recent caller took Clark to task for telling seniors not to carry their Social Security cards around. This disgruntled listener complained that seniors have to carry their Medicare cards, which contain their Social Security numbers.

For the record, Clark believes seniors shouldn't routinely carry their Medicare cards -- unless they know they have a doctor's appointment on a given day.

Years ago, the government ordered private insurers to start using MRNs (medical record numbers) instead of Social Security numbers to minimize the risk of ID theft. The insurers kicked and screamed, but they ultimately complied.

Now, behind the scenes, the government is trying to force Medicare to do the same. The San Francisco Chronicle reports the Social Security Administration itself is trying to pressure Medicare -- and they're not complying.

Seniors are prime targets for ID thieves because they're the ones with all the assets. 31 states have laws that prohibit or restrict the display of your Social Security number. Why don't the arrogant folks at Medicare care? Why must they aid and abet the ID thieves?

If you've ever seen or heard a LifeLock ad, you know that CEO Todd Davis proudly announces his Social Security number – essentially challenging thieves to steal his identity.

Clark is often asked about whether or not Davis' company offers a legitimate service. First off, yes, LifeLock is a legitimate company. However, Clark doesn't believe they're very effective at protecting your identity. Now the CEO is being sued in Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia by customers who say his service doesn't work.

LifeLock's business model is based on repeatedly putting fraud alerts on your credit files. These alerts are meant to raise a flag to potential creditors so they carefully verify an applicant's identity. Too often, however, the alerts are ignored and credit is extended anyway to thieves using your name.

The truth is there's no perfect way to prevent ID theft. In the event of a theft, the banks and credit-card companies know it's cheaper to deal with write-offs after the fact than to institute industry-wide practices to end the threat before it begins.

So what's the best available solution? Do a credit freeze. This will shut a criminal down cold when it comes to applying for credit in your name. They can still take a card from your wallet and charge it up, though. But that's the least harmful crime in this arena.

Credit freezes are not a panacea and can be somewhat of hassle to establish. That's why Clark has compiled his credit freeze guide to help you through the process. When you do want to use credit again, "thawing" your records can take from a few minutes to a few days, depending on your state of residence.

It's been 12 years since Clark had his first call about ID theft on the show. Back then there was no name for the crime; now it's become routine. The Identity Theft Resource Center reports that in the first 90 days of this year, the personal info of 8.5 million Americans was stolen from company, government, hospital, university and bank databases.

ID theft is out of control because banks don't know who they're doing business with anymore. Sadly, the parties that can do the most are doing the least. Banks, credit card companies, retailers and credit bureaus don't care about the damage ID thieves can do to your life. The police departments, meanwhile, have too many other responsibilities to address ID theft.

Doing a credit freeze is the only way to protect yourself. You'll get a secret code that you can use to thaw your credit. That way, even if a criminal steals your identity, they can't do anything with it because they don't have the secret code. The credit bureaus intentionally make the process of applying for a credit freeze difficult. Clark has compiled a guide to help you navigate the process.

Clark is getting calls about a new kind of tax ID theft, plus a WTMJ listener recently told him her own disturbing story. The latest scam involves someone using your Social Security number to provide false tax info and apply for a refund as if they're you. Then when you go to file your taxes, you're told that you can't file twice. The ways people get our Social Security numbers are myriad, and there's not enough attention paid to this area. Another scam listeners are telling us about involves getting a notice from the IRS saying you owe money because you did not report all income for a prior tax year. What actually happens is that someone working illegally files a W-4 in your name and that income gets reported by the employer.

Clark has a somewhat radical suggestion that's a twofer: It deals with tax ID fraud and would eliminate the hiring of illegals. Clark recently joined the trusted traveler program and agreed to have his eyes and fingerprints scanned. This allows him to speed through security at select airports. Now Clark thinks it's reasonable -- in an era where nobody seems to know who we are anymore -- to be fingerprinted upon accepting employment or filing a tax return. Does this idea creep you out? Tell us by voting in our poll!

Experian's FreeCreditReport.com is one business venture that enrages Clark. The credit bureau has been slapped with fines for misleading advertising at the website; the service being offered is not free. It turns out that Experian must not like competition -- they've filed suit against LifeLock alleging violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and…you guessed it…"false and misleading advertising and fraud." Well, it takes one to know one, Experian.

First off, Clark wants to answer a long-standing question he's been hearing: Yes, LifeLock is the real deal. It is not a scam. They put out fraud alerts 4 times a year with each of the bureaus to reduce, in theory, the amount of ID theft. But in doing so, LifeLock takes a piece of the action away from Experian's Triple Advantage Credit Monitoring service (available via FreeCreditReport.com).

In the interest of full disclosure, Clark wants you to know that he's been approached by LifeLock to put their people on the air. That's not going to happen. While he respects the company, he thinks you'd be better off doing a credit freeze. But he's just riled up over the arrogance of the liars at Experian who want to file suit on the grounds of exactly the kind of garbage they've been doing for years. Would anyone from Experian like to come on the show and offer a rebuttal?

Clark's friend former Georgia governor Roy Barnes recently told him that he has become an ID theft victim. Barnes got a call from American Express wanting to know if he had opened a second AMEX account, which he had not. So he pulled his credit report and found 7 new applications for cards that a New York-based ID thief had been filling out. The credit card companies were just sending cards in Barnes name to the ID thief. After dealing with all 3 of the major credit bureaus, Barnes has special venom for Equifax for allegedly being impossible to deal with. He had a good experience with Experian, and a neutral one with TransUnion.

If this happens to you, Barnes says you must keep perfect notes and write down the agent code of everyone you speak with on the phone. Barnes has a file for every card the thief opened. But this criminal is still out there opening accounts in his name. This guy was a governor and he's going through this! He'll be fine, but 10 million of us deal with some level of ID theft every year. There's no effective marketplace solution yet.

RIP-OFF ALERT: The Berkeley Center for Law and Technology analyzed corporate America to see which companies have the highest incidence of ID theft. The No. 1 company? Bank of America. BoA is the nation's second largest bank. (If you look at the numbers based on total customer base, BoA then actually comes in second behind HSBC). AT&T occupies the second slot, followed by Sprint (No. 3), JPMorgan Chase (No. 4) and Capital One (No. 5). Think about it: 3 of the first 5 are banks, which is understandable. But why are two phone companies way up there? The reason is because they do a credit check when you apply for phone service, and open yourself up as a potential target when they get your info. In the No. 6 spot, we have Citibank. As the nation's largest bank, Citibank has one-third less incidences of ID theft than the smaller BoA! Verizon, American Express, Washington Mutual and Wells-Fargo all round out the top ten. View the complete list online at the Berkeley site.

Now the inevitable question: Why do these institutions have high rates of ID theft? Clark speculates that it must have to do with the way they internally handle your information. Interestingly, the bank with the lowest incidence of ID theft is ING Direct. You would think they'd be up at the top of the list since they're Internet only. But being a newer bank, they've been dealing with outsmarting ID thieves since they launched. It's much tougher for a legacy financial institution to retroactively patch good protection into systems that were built decades ago. ID theft has not grown significantly -- it still happens to about 10 million people a year -- but it's still a major issue. Finally, from the "no they didn't!" category, the New York City Department of Finance sent tax forms to 1000s that showed people's Social Security numbers through the envelope. C'mon people, this is 2008! Get with the program.

The latest figures show that ID theft continues to grow at an alarming pace. The feds report that 8.5 million people had their identity stolen last year. But other private industry reports put that number between 12-15 million last year. ID theft can range from a minor aggravation to a full-on tragedy. In the latter category, Clark has heard numerous stories over the years of ID theft taking place within families. There are instances where a father will steal the ID of a son, or a mother of a daughter.

So what can you do about ID theft? Try freezing your credit file. Credit freezes are now available in all 50 states from all 3 credit-reporting bureaus. See our credit freeze guide if you're having trouble navigating the often-confusing application process. Credit freezes shut down ID thieves cold. A "perk" is that you also shut down your ability to make an impulse purchase with a new line of credit! You'll pay a nominal fee to do a credit freeze or thaw. But the cost will be nothing compared to the hassle you could have if you leave yourself unprotected. A cautionary tale comes to us from Britain, where the government recently lost the data files of 25 million people in one fell swoop. Now criminals have all the info they need to wreak havoc. The British prime minister is understandably facing a firestorm of protest.

Over the past few weeks, Clark has been talking about the fact that now all three credit bureaus are allowing people in all 50 states to freeze their credit. TransUnion was the first to announce the policy, followed by Equifax and Experian. The Wall Street Journal now reports that credit freezes are accelerating in popularity. This is impressive considering the bureaus aren't making it very easy to find out about credit freezes. Here at ClarkHoward.com we've compiled Clark's credit freeze guide to help you navigate the process. The bureaus would rather make money by selling you alerts (after the fact of an ID theft); the freeze, meanwhile, is a preventative measure. Unless you are a documented victim of ID theft, you'll have to pay to freeze your credit. Just beware that when you want to apply for new credit, you'll have to pay again for a temporary thaw. There is some concern that credit freezes will prevent people from impulsively applying for new credit. But Clark thinks that's a good thing!

If you're a regular listener, you know that Clark often speaks about ID theft, its dangers and how to avoid it. Many people think ID theft happens on the computer. But a Utica College study finds that ID theft by non-technological means is more common. Quite often your identity can be stolen by a crooked employee at an otherwise legitimate company, or at a business that's not careful when it disposes of sensitive information. Retail is the number one place where this crime takes place, but one in four ID thieves works at a financial institution. Speaking of banks, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that they are big conduits of low-tech ID theft. A TV reporter apparently did some dumpster-diving behind a number of banks and found that they unloaded old files and records without shredding them. That leaves your sensitive information unprotected. We're talking about things like names, Social Security numbers, addresses, dates of birth and more.

Only three percent of ID thefts result from high-tech intrusions like a computer hacker stealing info online. By comparison, more than a third of all ID thefts happen when your credit card number is skimmed by an unethical employee -- either in-person or on the phone. The truth is that there are many ways people steal your identity. In fact, e-retailers offer you more layers of protection than when you hand your credit card to someone behind a register who you've never laid eyes on before. About 20 percent of the time ID theft occurs when people steal from your mailbox. But that risk can be easily eliminated by purchasing a locked mailbox at any hardware store.

A few weeks ago Clark spoke about new credit freeze laws for non-victims of ID theft. The new rules have been or are being adopted by all three major credit bureaus. A credit freeze is the most effective strategy to shut down ID theft. Freezes had been free to victims of ID theft, but previously not all non-victims had access to them. Clark froze his credit with TransUnion yesterday -- the first day he was eligible to do so. He had to write a letter providing his name, address and Social Security number, plus a copy of his driver's license. Then he also had to provide a credit card number to pay a $10 freeze fee. Some people may feel uncomfortable giving up all that information, but Clark looks at it as a calculated risk that's very smart. The cost of not doing a freeze and having your identity stolen can be disastrous. Experian will allow credit freezes beginning Nov. 1, while Equifax still has not announced a start date yet. What does a credit freeze mean for Clark's life -- or yours? It means that he must pay $10 per bureau when he wants to thaw his records to apply for future credit. If that sounds costly to you, compare this cost to the thousands of dollars and untold hours you'd have to spend restoring your good name and credit following an ID theft.

A few days ago Clark told you that TransUnion and Equifax will begin allowing people who don't live in states with credit freeze laws greater access to freezes for a price. Experian has now announced that they too will modify their credit freeze rules in the same way. Credit freeze laws started in California and are now in 39 states on the way to being in all 50. But surprisingly only about 50,000 people across the country have taken credit freeze action. Experian's offer begins Nov. 1 and will cost $10 just like TransUnion and Equifax. So if you want to freeze (or unfreeze) your credit with all three bureaus it will cost $30. Keep in mind that this service is completely free those who are already victims of ID theft and have a police report or FTC affidavit to prove it.

What is a credit freeze and why is it so important? Criminals have access to your ID so many ways. Freezes allow you to lock up your records and select a secret code that only you know and can use to temporarily thaw your credit. So criminals won't be able to get credit in your name because they don't have your code. This is the most effective tool against economic ID theft and it's a shame that so few people have used it so far. Even Clark plans to do a credit freeze now that it's available to him in Georgia. After all, ID theft happens to 10 million people each year.

There's good news for consumers who don't live in one of the nearly 40 states with credit-freeze laws on the books. TransUnion and Equifax have now agreed to allow non-victims of ID theft in such states to freeze their credit for a cost of $10 beginning Oct. 15. If that cost seems high to you, just think about how expensive it is to be a victim of ID theft. Of course, freezes already are free to those who've filed a police or FTC report about having their ID stolen. The benefit of a credit freeze is that even if a thief has your information they can't do anything with it. There's no word yet if Experian -- the third major credit bureau -- will follow the lead of TransUnion and Equifax and allows credit freezes in states where it's not already on the books. Experian just lost a lawsuit on appeal that concerned negligence in its credit reporting practices. The bureau has messed someone's credit up and had a false judgment against them. But it still wasn't corrected even when the person had documents to prove that Experian made an error. The three credit bureaus wield so much power. Their reports determine if we get credit, job offers and loans. They should be held accountable for accuracy, but unfortunately this is not yet the case.

Earlier this week, Clark told you about a security breach at Monster.com where hackers stole the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of 1.3 million people. There have been so many breaches over the years that we're almost numb to news about them. But now there's reason to believe that the Monster breach could affect more than just a million people. Nobody knows the exact number -- it's just larger than previously thought. So if you've ever posted your information on Monster.com, you need to be aware that criminals are calling people up and pretending to be potential employers or banks to get additional personal information. Once they get your additional info, they have all they need to take your identity or empty your bank account. You should only divulge sensitive information in person at a potential place of employment or a bank. The web is too anonymous and dangerous of a place to share your info via e-mail.

If you have kids, you probably know that Facebook is big among teens. This social networking site is becoming one of the main ways that young people communicate with each other online. But the problem is that if you want to use Facebook, you have to list info about yourself on a public page. This makes you a target for identity theft. A recent study found that nearly 50 percent of Facebook users put enough info -- things like birth date, hometown, family information and more -- to aid ID thieves. Kids don't understand the risks inherent in using some of this new social networking technology. It should be up to parents to educate themselves so they can have an intelligent discussion with their kids about the issue. Clark advises parents to sign up for their own accounts and figure out how these things work so they can safeguard their kids.

One crooked employee at Fidelity National Information Services stole the personal information from 2.3 million Americans, taking their checking account numbers, social security numbers, and more. He has since sold the information to a "broker." This is a big deal, because if someone gets your checking account number, unlike your credit card number, you could end up behind bars when the criminal writes checks pretending to be you. Criminals are able to steal information easily. You never know that they have it until it’s too late, and it's almost impossible to know where the breach in security originated. In 37 states, you can freeze your credit file so that if someone does steal your identity, there's nothing they can do with it. It's very beneficial, but credit bureaus are keeping this secret. This is because they lose all the money they make from your dossier if you freeze your credit. Clark thinks we need a fining system in place for credit card companies, banks, and lenders so that they are held responsible when something goes wrong and they give credit to the wrong person. You can check if your state has credit freezes at financialprivacynow.org

Credit bureaus have been getting a lot of heat on Capitol Hill because it's way too difficult for consumers to fix errors on a credit report. The Federal Reserve is also on the hot seat after it was supposed to have issued rules four year ago detailing how to correct such errors. But the Reserve hasn't issued those rules because it's in cahoots with the banks. The last thing the banks want to do is lose money if you can fix errors on your credit report. Think about it: The banks and insurance companies have an advantage when you have errors on your report. You'll get a lower credit score and they can give you higher price quotes on loans and insurance coverage. We're talking here about an industry that is verging on being almost purposely dishonest.

USA Today recently did a story on how the major credit bureaus lobby state lawmakers to block credit freeze laws. Such laws allow consumers to put a hold on their accounts after their identities have been stolen. Thankfully, more than 30 states now have credit freeze laws despite the bureaus' best efforts. Now the bureaus even want Congress to outlaw all existing credit freeze laws. This is about money, plain and simple. Every time a freeze happens, that means the bureaus can't profit off the dossiers they collect of people's information. On an interesting note, very few consumers are actually using credit freezing for protection when they have the option. That's probably because they're afraid of alienating the bureaus should they need credit in the future. Some states even have "quick thaw" laws on the books. Those laws allow you to use a secret code for single transactions after a credit freeze. You can then immediately re-freeze your credit. Retailers like that because it still allows people to make impulse buys. In time, Clark believes that all 50 states will have freeze and thaw laws. But instead of fighting the push for these laws, shouldn't the credit bureaus be helping to prevent ID theft?

Did you know that if a criminal gets your credit card number, they can show their "generosity" by donating money to charity using your credit card? Why are criminals doing this? This is happening because the charities will let the criminal know if the card is verified and still active. More importantly, it's a great way for criminals to test if the card will be reported stolen, according to a story Clark read in Newsday. Criminals can then sell your verified card number for three times the value of an unverified card! If someone steals an unverified number, it's worth $6; if it is verified, it sells for $18. The Red Cross has reported 700 fraudulent donations using stolen cards last month alone! Therefore, if you see a small unauthorized charity donation on your bill, be alert. Clark says the solution to this problem is so easy. The credit card companies should do what is done in Europe by inserting a smart chip in the card which requires a secret code. So even if someone steals your card, if they don’t know your code the card can’t be used. The result in Europe is that credit card fraud is nowhere near the problem it is in the United States. So why are we still using '60s technology to print out credit cards here? It seems like the banks would rather deal with the fraud that occurs and then clean up the mess after the fact, rather than spend the money proactively to get things done right in the first place.

Identity theft remains the No. 1 fraud complaint at the Federal Trade Commission. In fact, it accounts for about 40 percent of all the complaints they receive. Why? It’s low on the priority list with the authorities and it’s a very difficult crime to investigate. Also, judges tend to look at ID theft as no big deal because no one gets hurt physically. Convicted ID thieves don’t go to jail for very long and they often never get caught. So, in the case of ID theft, the phrase, “Crime doesn’t pay,” doesn’t apply. Yet, it’s so detrimental to the victim. It’s even worse when the unsuspecting innocent victim is hauled off to jail because someone stole his or her identity. What everyone seems to miss is that ID theft is preventable, especially in the more than 20 states that allow “credit freezing.” When you freeze your credit, you get a secret code that allows you to freeze and thaw your credit. So, even if a criminal steals your identity, he can’t do anything if your credit is frozen. About 2 million people can freeze their credit right now, but only about 100,000 have taken advantage of it. Sometimes it costs money and sometimes it’s free. But it’s worth looking into. The states where you can freeze your credit are listed here. The rest of the states are considering starting credit freeze laws, which is good news. Let’s hope more catch on.

The most recent edition of Reader’s Digest explores identity theft and the latest target for thieves: medical records. Most people write their social security number every time they visit the doctor or other medical facility. You should ask for a good reason why these facilities need the number before you give it. In other ID theft news, roughly half of these crimes turn out to be perpetrated by friends or family members. Someone who knows us well is just as likely to steal our identity as a stranger. If a family member steals your identity and there is a chance of pressing charges, Clark wants you to consider it strongly. You are doing no benefit to your relative if you let him or her get away with it.

Innocent people are ending up behind bars these days, mistakenly charged with identity theft. The principal reason is because their checks are being stolen and then those checks are used illegally to buy all kinds of high dollar items. Banks do nothing to help those innocent people once the checks are used, so they end up in jail. The trouble usually starts when you carry your checkbook in your purse or bag, or keep it in your glove box. Also, if you order checks from your bank, be sure to pick them up from your branch. Do not have them delivered. And if it takes longer than 10 days, call you bank and find out what happened.

Insurance companies are now helping customers prevent and deal with ID theft. It's being called ID theft insurance. Learn more!

What are the chances that you will become the victim of identity theft? Well, about 10 million people had their identities stolen last year. The sad news is that solutions are there; we just don’t know about them. Financial institutions that could promote awareness and implement protection programs simply haven’t. Having the ability to freeze your credit is one of the most important steps once ID theft has occurred. Right now, just a handful of states allow you to do that. California, Vermont, Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, Washington and Maine have credit freezing laws. In California, you can even do a proactive freeze. You have to go through a lot of work to unfreeze your credit, but some people are willing to do it. There are varying degrees of identity theft and some are harder to clear up than others. Nationwide Mutual Insurance found that one in three people are unable to get their good names back once it’s happened. So what can you do? Don’t carry a checkbook, buy a shredder and “opt out” of credit card pre-approvals are three of the best ways to prevent it. Just call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT to stop pre-approvals. You will have to give your social security number and that is fine. Lastly, you want to get a copy of your credit report at least once a year. It’s free now, so just go to annualcredit report.com.

This year has been a flashpoint in the history of identity theft. Not only were there a record number of identities stolen, with the number increasing each month. But there were also huge security breaches at Choicepoint, Bank of America and many other huge companies. These companies carelessly leaked or sold customers’ financial information to criminals, causing a surge in ID theft. One law in California has been the saving grace in this catastrophe, and it was the brainchild of Sen. Deborah Bowen. Today, Clark talked to Bowen about the law, which has changed the focus of identity theft across the country. The beauty of the law is that it requires companies to notify customers when a breech has occurred. Before that, companies in California just kept it a secret and charges would all of a sudden show up on your credit card bills and credit reports. She talked about the fact that people deserved “fair warning” when something like this happened to them. And Clark hopes it takes shape in all other states soon!

The Wall Street Journal has a Page 1 story about how several companies have leaked personal and financial information of some it’s most wealthy clients. It’s sitting there for public consumption because of the carelessness of several companies, including Bank of America, U.S. Banc Corp, AmSouth, City National Bank of Los Angeles and Dreyfuss. The Wall Street Journal contacted these companies and Bank of America claims it is committed to doing something about this. Dreyfuss officials said they are “re-evaluating” how information is processed at the company. But, really, what can BOA do? It’s also creating a crisis in public confidence. Apparently, people are getting more gunshy about buying things on the Web, which can seriously harm our economy. We need privacy rights legislation in the United States and the way to accomplish that is to take political action. We need clear laws about how our personal information can be collected and used, and Congress needs to establish a law detailing exactly that. So what can you do to help? We need to write our representatives and tell them exactly what we need. So Clark is crafting a letter you can send that will get their attention. We will let you know when it is ready. Identity theft didn’t exist until these databases started forming, and the organizations that collect our information are responsible for letting it get out of hand. We have some cowboy capitalism going on and we need a new sheriff in town.