Tips for preventing cyberthefts

The recent data breach at Target has made victims of consumers in Southeast Missouri. About 40 million debit and credit card numbers were stolen between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15. The company later learned personal information, including email and home addresses, phone numbers and names, were swiped from as many as 70 million customers.

It's a troubling situation, leaving many people uncertain on what to do. The Southeast Missourian has published a handful of stories that have contained advice. The information is important enough to publish again. These tips came from a local bank president:

* Do not carry all your checks with you if you don't need them.

* Do not keep a debit card PIN written down, especially in your wallet.

* Make your PIN complicated and avoid combinations that are used often (house or phone numbers) or easy to guess (1234). Change your PIN frequently.

* Do not carry your Social Security number in your wallet.

* Try to protect your ingoing and outgoing mail.

* Shred any document that includes personal information (including credit-card applications) before throwing it away.

* Safely store financial information.

Other experts have said consumers should check their credit-card statements carefully for potentially fraudulent charges. Thieves often sell information on the black market to the highest bidder. It could take a while for the thieves to actually steal from you.

If you're especially concerned about the Target breach, experts recommend you take Target up on its offer of free credit monitoring.

You also should frequently change passwords on your email and other accounts such as Facebook.

It's becoming a scary cyberworld out there. Please use caution.