The experts at www.MyPrivateCredit.com offer their insights to help keep you and your family safe from identity theft this summer vacation season. Identity Theives have been known to target unsuspecting tourists and there are simple and easy steps anyone can take to protect themselves from identity theft.

Summer is in the air and many hard working Americans are planning out their vacation weeks for some well deserved rest and relaxation in a warm vacation spot. Many travelers are unaware that their sunny and warm vacation spot can be a hot bed for identity theft and fraud. Identity thieves exist all over the globe, but have been known to target unsuspecting and vulnerable tourists, who are loose with personal information.

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The FTC estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. The Federal Trade Commission estimated that consumer fraud and identity theft cost Americans $1.2 billion in 2007, and the statistics and victims are only increasing.

If you are planning on a summer vacation in the following states, be sure to take every possible precaution to keep your identity and finances safe. These are the top ten states for identity theft per capita basis.

1. Arizona
2. California
3. Nevada
4. Texas
5. Florida
6. New York
7. Georgia
8. Colorado
9. New Mexico
10. Maryland

Source: Consumer Sentinel

The metropolitan areas with the highest per capita rates of reported identity theft are Napa, California; Madera, California; and Greeley, Colorado but many other locations outside of the US are ripe with pickpocketers who can not only swipe your spending cash but also your identity. Do not let identity thieves ruin your vacation and your credit. Travelers can protect themselves and greatly reduce their chances of theft by following the advice below.

Hotel safes- If you plan on brining personal information with you on vacation, a good idea is to use hotel safes. Lock up all valuables in room safes while you are out on the town. Include laptops, passports, receipts, and other documents that may contain personal identifying information that a thief could use.

Suitcases can be easily picked or cracked open, a hotel safe is a much safer bet for safeguarding your information, and also hotels will often insure personal documents and objects if they are somehow stolen when locked in a hotel safe.

Pickpockets and travel pouches- Pickpockets are prevalent in nearly every major city and tend to target high traffic areas that attract business and vacation travelers. Many studies indicate that wallets stolen in tourist spots frequently lead to identity theft, which can cost you much more than your spending cash. To guard yourself against pickpocketers, do not carry any unnecessary documents in your wallet.