Don't Give Every Service Your Real Birthday

Your date of birth is one of the most common identity verification fields. Banks, government agencies, and credit bureaus all use it to confirm your identity. When you hand that same piece of information to a shopping site, a game app, or a newsletter signup, you are distributing a key piece of your identity to entities that do not need it and may not protect it.

Unless a service legally requires your real birthday — financial, government, or healthcare services — consider using a different date. You can pick a consistent fake birthday that is easy to remember. This small practice reduces the risk of identity theft if any of those less-secure services get breached.