One of the most common ways to guard yourself against credit card misuse is to sign the back of your card, so that merchants can check the signature on your card with that on your ID. Right? Well, maybe not. According to financial blog The Tao of Making Money, the best practice is not to sign it.

Here's our official advice on signing the strip on the back: Don't sign it. It's useless as a deterrent, as anyone who takes your card then has a sample of your signature which they can not only use on any charge slip, but on your checks as well. However, do not leave the white strip blank. In that space, write: "Ask For Picture ID," and be prepared to back that up someday when you're in a hurry and the clerk wants to see a driver's license as well as the card. It makes the charge transaction a little longer, but a lot safer. I've been doing this for years and while it's not a perfect solution, it certainly is better than nothing. Let's hear your thoughts on this: signing, or not signing? You know what to do.

The Credit Score Tips & Advice weblog points out 8 steps you should take in the event that your identity is stolen.

Identity theft is certainly a terrifying prospect - one that no one really wants to think about - but in the unfortunate event that your identity is stolen, these 8 steps look like a good starting point to getting your life back. As several of this post's commenters point out, nothing you do guarantees you can get everything back to normal if your identity is stolen. However, these 8 tips will at least give you a good place to start.

Check out our sister site, Consumerist, for another

News site NewsFactor.com offers common-sense advice on protecting yourself from identity theft. For example, if you receive an e-mail that appears to be from your bank, mouse over the link before clicking:

In most cases, you will see the details of the actual URL that the link goes to. Usually, phishing e-mail contains lengthy Web addresses that are not based on your bank's domain name. However, it's also important to be on the lookout for some very sophisticated phishing scams that use advanced scripting to mess with your e-mail client's ability to determine the real link.

While some of this advice may seem like Phishing 101 to experienced users, who among us couldn't use a refresher course? And it's perfect for sharing with your less tech-savvy friends and family members. While you're at it, check out our past

Web site The Straight Dope has a brief Q&A on the subject of credit card security and whether or not you should sign the back of your credit cards. The verdict:

Don't sign it. It's useless as a deterrent, as anyone who takes your card then has a sample of your signature which they can not only use on any charge slip, but on your checks as well. However, do not leave the white strip blank. In that space, write: "Ask For Picture ID," and be prepared to back that up someday when you're in a hurry and the clerk wants to see a driver's license as well as the card. It makes the charge transaction a little longer, but a lot safer.

One savvy reader had

Canadian news site Canada.com has published an article highlighting things you can do to avoid identity theft. For example:

Sometimes we want to take advantage of "online only" specials, and look to make a purchase online. Having a credit card with a relatively small limit (say $250 to $500) instead of using your major card is a good way to protect yourself if the sale is too good to be true. This ensures that if your information is captured by criminals, they won't have access to too much money.

If you're concerned about identity theft, this article offers several good tips. For more, check our recent ask the readers post on how to

Learn how to spot those deceitful little PayPal emails straight from the horse's mouth.

PayPal has a pretty extensive yet simple tutorial on how to determine if that email asking you for your PayPal password and login name is for real (it's not). Includes questions PayPal will never ask you, what to watch out for in the greeting style, how to recognize a spoof email, and more. Mom - are you reading this?— Wendy Boswell

Last week we asked Lifehacker readers about avoiding