Free ways to protect against identity theft

(Credit: Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly/CNET)

Identity thieves are more active than ever. In 2012, the Federal Trade Commission received more than 2 million consumer complaints overall, and for the 13th consecutive year, identity theft was the most-common complaint category: 369,132 ID-theft reports were added to the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network in the year, an increase of more than 30 percent from 2011.

Last week the FTC released its 2012 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book (PDF). According to the report, the fastest-growing category of identity theft relates to government documents and benefits: complaints in this category increased 46 percent from calendar-year 2010. Credit-card fraud (13 percent), phone or utilities fraud (10 percent), and bank fraud (6 percent) were the next most-common categories of ID theft in 2012.

The rise in identity-theft complaints may have you considering one of the many fee-based services that promise to defend against identity theft and other online crimes. Many experts consider such services a bad investment, particularly in light of the steps you can take to protect yourself against ID thieves without having to spend any money. Here are three identity-theft-prevention techniques that won't cost you a dime.

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by Dennis O'Reilly via CNET How To