Make a FINANCIAL Resolution:

The holiday season has passed for another year, and for most of us, the frantic spending frenzy that accompanies it. Overspending during the holidays poses a real threat to many bank accounts, but the biggest threat to many consumers’ finances was not overspending. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America, costing $52.6 billion in 2004. The hectic holiday season presents an opportunity too good for many thieves to pass up, but it’s a major problem all year-round.

In most cases, as long as you report a lost or stolen card or account information in a timely manner, you are not liable for more than $50, and if you report it before any fraudulent charges have been made, you may not have to pay a single cent. But according to a 2005 study by the Better Business Bureau and Javelin Strategy Research, the average identity theft victim spent 28 hours resolving credit, financial and other problems caused by fraud in 2004. The start of a new year may be an excellent time to re-think financial strategies and to put some precautionary systems into place.

Use an online budgeting program to track your purchases. According to the Javelin study, the fastest method to detect fraud is through self-detection by electronic means. Victims of identity theft who detected the crime by monitoring accounts online experienced losses of about $551, compared with an average of $4,543 when detected from paper statements. The Javelin report states, "Electronic monitoring reflects near real-time activity, can be accessed from almost anywhere, provides greater safety by sharply reducing time to detection, and potentially eliminates the paper records and mail that are possible avenues to many identity theft cases."

A secure online budgeting program like Mvelopes Personal (www.mvelopes.com) makes it simple to track all of your expenses from all of your accounts, including checking accounts and credit cards, all in one place. Review your transactions on a regular basis to make sure there are no unauthorized purchases or charges.

Keep an eye on your card. Make sure the cashier returns your card after each purchase. Place your card in your wallet or purse where it can't easily fall out or be stolen. Also, be cautious of "shoulder surfers" — people watching over your shoulder to obtain your PIN or other account information — at the store, ATM, or when shopping online.

Protect your receipts. Beginning December 5, companies will not be allowed to print the expiration date or more than the last five digits of your debit or credit card number on receipts. Until then, many businesses will still print entire account numbers along with card expiration dates on your receipts. This is the only information a thief needs to make thousands of dollars worth of unauthorized purchases with your card. Be careful not to lose any of your receipts, and shred them, along with any other documents containing this sensitive information, before discarding them.

While there has been considerable attention given to electronic methods of obtaining personal information, the fact remains that the majority of the time, thieves obtain this information through more traditional means, such as a lost or stolen wallet, stolen mail, or misappropriation by family or friends. In cases where the method of obtaining personal information is known, most thieves obtain this information through offline means — about 68 percent of the time, compared to only 12 percent online.