It's safer to receive Social Security via direct deposit There's no doubt that identity theft is a problem in America. New Jersey has responded by passing one of the toughest anti-identity theft laws in the country (The Identity Theft Protection Act). But according to the Department of the Treasury and Reserved Banks, four out of every 10 Americans have been victims of identity theft, or know someone who has. The threat of identity theft is enough to keep many of us from shopping online or opening online bank accounts. We tend to think of using checks as the secure choice. That's not always the case. The survey from the Department of the Treasury and Reserved Banks has indicated that people leave themselves open to financial crimes by using paper checks. Nearly one in three surveyed said they had a check, large sum of money or an important document lost or stolen. In response to the survey, Kenneth R. Papaj, commissioner of Treasury's Financial Management Service, said that nearly 57,000 checks issued by the treasury were fraudulently endorsed. The simple way to protect ourselves from fraud is to enroll in a direct deposit program. Direct deposit programs eliminate the risk of identity theft (through stolen checks) by eliminating paper checks. Instead of receiving your check in the mail, the amount is directly deposited into your bank account. I'm urging all New Jersey residents to elect to receive their Social Security checks through direct deposit. For more information, call Social Security's toll-free number (800) 772-1213, contact your bank or go to www.aarp.org/nj. Sy Larson State President AARP New Jersey Princeton