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Identity Theft
occurs when someone uses your personal information
such as your name, Social Security number,
credit card number or other identifying
information, without your permission to
commit fraud or other crimes.
Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have
been stolen can spend months or years cleaning up the mess thieves
have made of their good name and credit record.
However, there are some things that you should do to protect your
privacy, which will help to reduce the risk of Identity Theft.
Prevention:
1. Buy
a cross-cut type shredder (you can
purchase cross-cut type shredder very
cost effectively for approximately
$60 - $70.) Shred all your important
papers and especially pre-approved
credit applications received in your
name and other financial information
that provides access to your private
information. Don't forget to shred
your credit card receipts.
2. Be
careful of "Dumpster Diving." Make
sure that you do not throw anything
away that someone could use to become
you. Anything with your identifiers
must be shredded (cross-cut) before
throwing away. Most identity theft
is tied to paper; that is the thief
gets his or her hands on financial
or personal data on paper, not via
on-line transactions.
3. Be
careful at ATM's and
using Phone Cards. "Shoulder
Surfers" can get
your "Pin Number" and
get access to your accounts.
4. Do
not put checks in
the mail from your
home mailbox. Drop
them off at a U.S.
Mailbox or the U.S.
Post Office. Mail
theft is common. It's
easy to change the
name of the recipient
on the check with
an acid wash.
5. When
you order new credit
cards in the mail, or
your previous ones have
expired, watch the calendar
to make sure that you
get the card within
the appropriate time.
If it is not received
by a certain date, call
the credit card grantor
immediately and find
out if the card was
sent. Find out if a
change of address was
filed if you don't receive
the card or a billing
statement.
6. Cancel
all credit cards that
you do not use or have
not used in 6 months.
Thieves use these very
easily - open credit
is a prime target.
7. Put
passwords on all your
accounts and do not
use your mother's maiden
name. Make up a fictitious
word.
8. Get
a post office box or
a locked mailbox, if
you possibly can.
9. Ask
all financial institutions,
doctors' offices, etc.,
what they do with your
private information
and make sure that they
shred it and protect
your information. Tell
them why.
10. Empty
your wallet of all extra
credit cards and social
security numbers, etc.
Do not carry any identifiers
you do not need. Don't
carry your birth certificate,
social security card,
or passport, unless
necessary.
11. Memorize
social security numbers
and passwords.
12. When
a person calls you at
home or at work, and
you do not know this
person, never give out
any of your personal
information. If they
tell you they are a
credit grantor of yours
call them back at the
number that you know
is the true number,
and ask for that party
to discuss personal
information. Provide
only information that
you believe is absolutely
necessary.
13. Do
not put your social
security number on your
checks or your credit
receipts. If a business
requests your social
security number, give
them an alternate number
and tell them why. They
do not need that to
identify you. If a government
agency requests your
social security number,
there must be a privacy
notice accompanying
the request.
14. Do
not put your telephone
number on your checks.
15. If
possible, get credit
cards and business cards
with your picture on
them.
16. Do
not put your credit card account
number on the Internet (unless it
is encrypted on a secured site.)
Don't put account numbers on the
outside of envelopes, or on your
checks.
17. When
you are asked to identify yourself
at schools, employers, or any other
kind of institutional identification,
ask to have an alternative to your
social security number. Unfortunately,
your health insurance carrier often
uses your social security number
as your identification number. Try
to change that if you can.
18. In
conjunction with a credit
card sale do not put
your address, telephone
number, or driver's
license number on the
statement.
19. Monitor
all your bank statements
from every credit
card every month.
Check to see if there
is anything that you
do not recognize and
call the credit grantor
to verify that it
is truly yours.
20. Order
your credit report
at least twice a year.
Review it carefully.
If you see anything
that appears fraudulent,
immediately put a
fraud alert on your
reports by calling
the numbers below.
21. Immediately
correct all mistakes
on your credit reports
in writing. Send those
letters Return Receipt
Requested, and identify
the problems item
by item with a copy
of the credit report
back to the credit
reporting agency.
You should hear from
them within 30 days.
22. Take
your name off all
promotional lists.
Call the three credit
reporting agency numbers
to opt out of pre-approved
offers.
Experian:
888.567.8688
Equifax: 888.567.8688
TransUnion: 888.567.8688
Write
to the following to get off promotional
lists:
Direct
Marketing Association
Mail Preference Service
P. O. Box 9008
Farmingdale, NY 11735 |
Direct
Marketing Association
Telephone Preference Service
P. O. Box 9014
Farmingdale, NY 11735 |
23. Write
to your State and Federal Legislators
to demand stronger privacy protection.
Also, ask that identity theft be
considered a crime in your State.
Demand that the State Finance and
Banking Committees pass legislation
to protect consumers from negligent
bank and credit reporting practices.
24. Consider
making your phone an unlisted number
or just use an initial, i.e.( J.Doe
instead of Jane Doe).
25. Make
a list of all your
credit card account numbers
and bank account numbers
(or photocopy) with
customer service phone
numbers, and keep
it in a safe place. (Do
not keep it on the
hard drive of your computer
if you are connected
to the Internet.)
Please click here
to access Identity
Theft RESOURCES:
For free information
and assistance, www.identitytheft.org
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What
to do if Identity Theft has occurred?
The FTC advises the following:
1. Place a fraud alert on your credit
reports and review your credit reports.
Call the toll-free fraud number of anyone of the three major credit
bureaus toplace a fraud alert on your credit report.This can help
prevent an identity thieffrom opening additional accounts in your
name. As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the
other two credit bureaus will automatically be notified to place
fraud alerts on your credit report, and all three reports will be
sent to you free of charge.
Equifax — To
report fraud, call:
1.800.525.6285,
and write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Experian — To report
fraud, call: 1.888.EXPERIAN (397-3742), and
write: P.O.
Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion — To
report fraud, call: 1.800.680.7289,
and write: Fraud Victim Assistance
Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton,
CA 92834-6790
Once you receive
your reports, review them carefully. Look
for inquiries you didn’t initiate,
accounts you didn’t open, and unexplained
debts on your true accounts. You also should
check that information such as your SSN,
address(es), name or initial, and employers
are correct. Inaccuracies in this information
also may be due to typographical errors.
Nevertheless, whether the inaccuracies are
due to fraud or error, you should notify
the credit bureau as soon as possible by
telephone and in writing. You should continue
to check your reports periodically, especially
in the first year after you’ve discovered
the theft, to make sure no new fraudulent
activity has occurred. The automated “one-call” fraud
alert process only works for the initial
placement of your fraud alert. Orders for
additional credit reports or renewals of
your fraud alerts must be made separately
at each of the three major credit bureaus.
2. Close
any accounts that have been tampered with
or opened fraudulently.
Credit Accounts
Credit accounts
include all accounts with banks, credit
card companies and other lenders, and phone
companies, utilities, ISPs, and other service
providers.
If you’re
closing existing accounts and opening new
ones, use new Personal Identification Numbers
(PINs) and passwords.
If there are
fraudulent charges or debits, ask the company
about the following forms for disputing
those transactions:
For new unauthorized
accounts, ask if the company accepts the
ID Theft Affidavit (available at www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/affidavit.pdf).
If they don’t, ask the representative
to send you the company’s fraud dispute
forms.
For your existing accounts, ask the representative
to send you the company’s fraud dispute
forms.
If your ATM card has been lost, stolen or otherwise compromised,
cancel the card as soon as you can. Get a new card with a new PIN.
Checks
If your checks
have been stolen or misused, close the account
and ask your bank to notify the appropriate
check verification service. While no federal
law limits your losses if someone steals
your checks and forges your signature, state
laws may protect you. Most states hold the
bank responsible for losses from a forged
check, but they also require you to take
reasonable care of your account. For example,
you may be held responsible for the forgery
if you fail to notify the bank in a timely
way that a check was lost or stolen. Contact
your state banking or consumer protection
agency for more information.
You also should
contact these major check verification companies.
Ask that retailers who use their databases
not accept your checks.
TeleCheck — 1.800.710.9898
or 927.0188
Certegy,
Inc. — 1.800.437.5120
International
Check Services — 1.800.631.9656
Call SCAN (1.800.262.7771)
to find out if the identity thief has been
passing bad checks in your name.
3. File
a report with your local police or the
police in the community where the identity
theft took place.
Keep a copy of
the report. You may need it to validate
your claims to creditors. If you can’t
get a copy, at least get the report number.
4. File
a complaint with the FTC.
By sharing your
identity theft complaint with the FTC, you
will provide important information that
can help law enforcement officials track
down identity thieves and stop them. The
FTC also can refer victim complaints to
other appropriate government agencies and
companies for further action. The FTC enters
the information you provide into our secure
database.
To file a complaint
or to learn more about the FTC’s Privacy
Policy, visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
If you don’t have access to the Internet,
you can call the FTC’s Identity Theft
Hotline: toll-free 1.877.IDTHEFT (438-4338);
TDD: 202-326-2502; or write: Identity Theft
Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington,
DC 20580.
The FTC works
for the consumer to prevent fraudulent,
deceptive and unfair business practices
in the marketplace and to provide information
to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid
them. To file a complaint or
to get free
information on consumer issues,
visit www.ftc.gov or
call toll-free, 1.877.FTC-HELP (1.877.382.4357);
TTY: 1.866.653.4261. The FTC enters Internet,
telemarketing, identity theft, and other
fraud-related complaints into Consumer
Sentinel, a secure, online database
available to hundreds of civil and criminal
law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and
abroad.
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