Financial Stability
Protect Yourself: Avoiding Identify Theft
Nine million Americans endure the financial and emotional trauma caused by identity theft every year - and the personal records of 73 million Americans were lost or stolen during one recent year alone, according to federal officials.
Identify theft occurs when someone uses your personal information - such as your name, Social Security number or credit card account number - without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes.
Criminals can gather this personal information through low-tech and high-tech means, everything from stealing your mail or pawing through your garbage to hacking into your computers or fooling you into revealing account numbers, passwords or other private information.
Here are some tips that will help you protect your assets:
- Reduce the number of credit cards you carry.
- Safeguard your credit cards as you would cash.
- Minimize the personal information a criminal can steal. Don't routinely carry your Social Security card, birth certificate or passport.
- Keep a list of all your credit cards, including account numbers, expiration dates and company phone numbers so you can notify creditors quickly in case of theft or loss.
- Sign new cards as soon as they arrive.
- If a bill or statement is late, call the issuer's customer service number to make sure the statement has not been diverted to another address.
- Immediately report billing errors and lost or stolen credit cards.
- Never provide your credit card numbers, passwords or other personal information over the telephone unless you initiate the call.
- Beware of "phishing" - bogus emails that appear to come from one of your financial institutions but do not. Never respond to an email or incoming phone request for your account's password.
- Shred pre-approved credit card offers, credit card receipts, copies of airline tickets or anything with your account number.
- Review statements carefully each month.
- Check your credit report once a year for accuracy.
The Federal Trade Commission has established a one-stop national resource that offers tips to deter, detect and defend against identity theft. Visit: www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/
Additional information is available from the U.S. Department of Justice. Visit: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html
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