Claude Bookout is President of United Investigations International, a private investigations firm located in Austin, Texas. (www.investigateworldwide.com) Texas license number: C9472

Blog updated monthly.

United International Investigations is an experienced private investigations firm with a reputation for integrity, dependability, and thoroughness. The firm provides its clients with a broad range of investigative assistance. Corporations, law firms, and prominent individuals have relied on its professional team of investigators to obtain power and control over their particular situations.

What not to keep in your wallet

We've blogged in the past about issues of identity theft, and given the significant amount of discussion in news media about the risk of identity theft, we don't think it's necessary to try to convince our readers that they should do more to mitigate the risk of identity theft. Instead, we'd just like to Give you some good ol' fashioned advice. We came across this little article on Yahoo! News (via Kiplinger), and thought you might like to know what 8 things security experts, which includes us, suggest you keep out of your wallet:

  1. Social Security Card
  2. Password Cheat Sheet
  3. Spare Keys
  4. Checks
  5. Passport
  6. Multiple Credit Cards
  7. Birth Certificate
  8. A stack of receipts
We're all guilty of 4, 6, and 8. With the sophistication of today's organized identity theft networks, those three things could be enough for them to steal your money or identity. Of course, we recommend that our clients sign up for an online credit score monitoring company (e.g., Credit Secure from American Express) and, especially for small business owners, retain a private investigator to conduct a thorough security risk assessment.