There's plenty of stress involved in moving from one home to another. The process of packing up and relocating your belongings can be especially difficult, especially with the worry that some items will be lost or damaged.

Many people who move to a new home may not realize that it comes with a heightened risk of identity theft. More people have access to your home during a move, and your mail can easily end up in the wrong place. In this confusion, it is entirely possible for someone to misuse your personal information.

People in the midst of a move can easily throw out sensitive documents while going through their belongings. Rick Hazeltine, writing for the National Association of Realtors' site Moving.com, says people might discard bills, bank statements, and other documents instead of packing them up.

While many documents can be thrown out after a certain amount of time, you should be careful about how you do it. Someone could pilfer your Social Security number or other information from something they find in the trash.

Instead of throwing these documents in the trash or recycling, put them through a shredder. You can purchase your own shredder or take your documents to a business that offers this service. Look for methods that make it more difficult to reassemble the document, such as cross-cut shredding.

It is always wise to keep your sensitive documents secure, especially as you are preparing to sell your home and move out. The moving company Chipman Relocations says you shouldn't leave any of these documents in plain sight during an open house or when the property is being shown to buyers.

While most movers are trustworthy, you don't want to take any chances when hiring a company to transport your belongings. Research the company to make sure it is properly licensed and reputable.

Any personal information you are sending on a moving truck should be kept in a locked file cabinet or other secure container. Hazeltine says you could also simply set these documents aside to take with you if you are driving to your new home. Alternatively, you could leave them with a friend or neighbor to ship to you after you have settled in at your new address.

Before you move, visit the post office to file a change of address request. Tucker Robbins, a real estate agent in Wilmington, Delaware, says your mail should start showing up at your new home within 10 business days. If you are worried about mail continuing to come to your old address, you can ask a neighbor to check on the mailbox for you.

You'll need to update your address with any places that regularly send you mail. These might include your bank, other financial institutions, health care organizations, and credit card companies. If this mail keeps going to your old address, the new owner or tenant might throw it away and make it more accessible to identity thieves.

See if these accounts offer notifications when there is suspicious activity on your account. Setting up these notifications will let you quickly find out if your personal information has been compromised.

You can also see if there has been any unauthorized activity on your credit cards or other accounts by checking your credit report. Hazeltine says should check this report three months after your move to see if there have been any suspicious inquiries that use your old address.

If the report suggests that your identity has been stolen, report the incident to the credit bureau. This action will place a fraud alert on your account and will help preserve your credit score.

Personal information might also be accessible through your smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Make sure these devices have strong passwords, and consider updating your passwords on your online accounts if your login information is entered automatically. Robbins recommends packing these items in unmarked boxes or keeping them with you when you move to your new home.