Although a few courageous passengers did make an attempt to thwart an airplane hijacker, most travelers face few safety problems while on the road. Nonetheless, serious accidents have occurred most of which could have been prevented with a little forethought and planning. Here's a short check list of reminders.

Ms. Givens stated that the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has many tips for protecting your privacy. I've collected a few of them here:

• Reduce the number of credit cards you actively use to a bare minimum. Carry only one or two of them in your wallet. Cancel all unused accounts. Even though you do not use them, their account numbers are recorded in your credit report, which is full of data that can be used by identity thieves.

• Keep a list or photocopy of all your credit cards, the account numbers, and expiration dates and the telephone numbers of the customer service and fraud departments in a secure place (not your wallet or purse) so you can quickly contact your creditors in case your cards have been stolen. Do the same with your bank accounts.

• Order your credit report once a year from each of the three credit bureaus to check for inaccuracies and fraudulent use of your accounts.

• When creating passwords and PINs (personal identification numbers), do not use the last four digits of your Social Security number, your birthdate, middle name, pet's name, consecutive numbers, or anything else that could easily be discovered by thieves.

• Memorize all your passwords. Don't record them on anything in your wallet or purse.

• Protect your Social Security number (SSN). Release it only when absolutely necessary (like on tax forms, employment records, most banking, stock, and property transactions). The SSN is the key to your credit and banking accounts and is the prime target of criminals. If a business requests your SSN, ask if it has an alternative number which can be used instead.

• Do not have your SSN printed on your checks. Don't let merchants hand-write it onto your checks because of the risk of fraud. There is no law against this, so you may need to be assertive.

• Carefully review your credit card statements and phone bills, including cellular phone bills, for unauthorized use.

• Store your canceled checks in a safe place. In the wrong hands, they could reveal a lot of information about you, including the account number, your phone number and driver's license number. Never permit your credit card number to be written onto your checks. It's a violation of California law (California Civil Code 1725) and puts you at risk for fraud.