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.

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.

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?