Like it or not, you are the first line of defense against identity fraud. Identity theft works for criminals because the default responsibility lies with you, the consumer. By the time you manage to convince financial institutions that you’re a victim the perpetrator has normally already profited from your name and credit.

Fortunately, when it comes to credit cards you can help prevent identity theft by following a number of simple guidelines. The steps below are not everything you can do to protect your credit cards, but they’re a good start. Let common sense guide you. If you want a more comprehensive identity theft solution, consider services such as LifeLock.

Only Take the Cards You Need

One of the most common starting points for identity theft is physical theft. Somebody steels your purse or wallet and not only uses credit cards in your name, but harvests data from them to apply for new cards and loans. The simplest way to prevent this is to keep any cards you don’t need at home. Lighten your wallet by keeping most of your cards in a secure spot at home. Take what you need for a specific occasion.

Keep All Receipts and Record All Transactions

Leaving a receipt from a major purchase means in might fall into the wrong hands. A stolen receipt can tell ID theft artists that you’ve got the credit to make fraud worthwhile. Combined with some eavesdropping or complicit shop workers, an identity thief can get enough of your information to use credit in your name. So keep your receipts and track them, too. Many identity theft cases take longer to sort out because the victim doesn’t know what he purchased during the same period as the fraudster made illegitimate charges on his card.

Never Make Transactions or Share Information via Email

Never click through any email to make a credit card transaction or otherwise share your credit card information. Phishing scam artists can make email look like it came from a credit card company or bank. It takes an expert eye to tell fake email apart from the real thing, but that doesn’t matter, because every legitimate institution that offers online services has a web portal you can get to by yourself, without clicking through email. Get those web addresses ahead of time. If you think you need to get into your accounts, type in the addresses yourself. Don’t ever click though email!

Use and Memorize Long, Hard to Guess Passwords

Your PIN is the first line of defense against credit card theft. Pick a PIN that is not based on biographical or family information, because thieves can discover both of these. The longer your PIN, the better. Above all, make sure you not only memorize your PIN, but use a different one for each of your cards. Otherwise, a fraudster who cracks one of them can crack them all.