What is identity theft?
How can someone steal your
identity? 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 - and their hard-earned money - cleaning up the mess
thieves have made of their good name and credit record. In the
meantime, victims may lose job opportunities, be refused loans,
education, housing or cars, or even get arrested for crimes they
didn't commit.
How do they go about stealing my identity?
Identity thieves may use a
variety of low- and high-tech methods to gain access to your
personally identifying information. For example:
 | They get information
from businesses or institutions by:
 | stealing records
from their employer, |
| bribing an employee
who has access to the records, |
| conning information
out of employees, or |
| hacking into the
organization's computers.
|
|
| They rummage through
your trash, the trash of businesses, or dumps in a practice
known as "dumpster diving." |
| They obtain credit
reports by abusing their employer's authorized access to
credit reports or by posing as a landlord, employer or someone
else who may have a legitimate need for and a legal right to
the information. |
| They steal credit and
debit card account numbers as your card is processed by using
a special information storage device in a practice known as
"skimming." |
| They steal wallets and
purses containing identification and credit and bank cards.
|
| They steal mail,
including bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit
offers, new checks, or tax information.
|
| They complete a
"change of address form" to divert mail to another
location. |
| They steal personal
information from your home. |
| They scam information
from you by posing as a legitimate business person or
government official. |
How can I tell if I'm a victim of
identity theft?
|
Monitor
the balances of your financial accounts. Look for unexplained
charges or withdrawals.
|
|
Other
indications of identity theft include:
|
failing
to receive bills or other mail, which may signal an
address change by the identity thief,
|
|
receiving
credit cards for which you did not apply,
|
|
being
denied credit for no apparent reason, or
|
|
receiving
calls or letters from debt collectors or businesses about
merchandise or services you did not buy.
|
|
Although
any of these indications could be a result of a simple error, you
should not assume that there’s been a mistake and do nothing.
Always follow up with the business or institution to find out.
What can I do to protect myself?
As with any
crime, you can't guarantee that
you will never be a victim, but you can minimize your
risk. By managing your personal information widely, cautiously and
with an awareness of the issue, you can help guard against
identity theft.
| Don't give out personal
information on the phone, through the mail or over the
Internet unless you've initiated the contact or are sure you
know who you're dealing with. Identity thieves may pose as
representatives of banks, Internet service providers (ISPs)
and even government agencies to get you to reveal your SSN,
mother's maiden name, account numbers, and other identifying
information. Before you share any personal information,
confirm that you are dealing with a legitimate organization.
You can check the organization's Web site as many companies
post scam alerts when their name is used improperly, or you
can call customer service using the number listed on your
account statement or in the telephone book.
|
| Don't carry your SSN
card; leave it in a secure place.
|
| Secure personal
information in your home, especially if you have roommates,
employ outside help or are having service work done in your
home.
|
| Guard your mail and
trash from theft:
| Deposit
outgoing mail in post office collection boxes or at your
local post office, rather than in an unsecured mailbox.
Promptly remove mail from your mailbox. If you're planning
to be away from home and can't pick up your mail, call the
U.S. Postal Service at 1-800-275-8777 to request a
vacation hold. The Postal Service will hold your mail at
your local post office until you can pick it up or are
home to receive it.
|
| To
thwart an identity thief who may pick through your trash
or recycling bins to capture your personal information,
tear or shred your charge receipts, copies of credit
applications, insurance forms, physician statements,
checks and bank statements, expired charge cards that
you're discarding, and credit offers you get in the mail.
If
you do not use the pre-screened credit card offers you
receive in the mail, you can opt out by calling
1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567- 8688). Please note that you
will be asked for your Social Security number in order for
the credit bureaus to identify your file so that they can
remove you from their lists and you still may receive some
credit offers because some companies use different lists
from the credit bureaus’ lists. For more information,
see How
can I prevent companies from using my
personal information for marketing?
|
|
| Carry only the
identification information and the number of credit and debit
cards that you'll actually need.
|
| Place passwords on your
credit card, bank and phone accounts. Avoid using easily
available information like your mother's maiden name, your
birth date, the last four digits of your SSN or your phone
number, or a series of consecutive numbers. When opening new
accounts, you may find that many businesses still have a line
on their applications for your mother's maiden name. Use a
password instead.
|
| Ask about information
security procedures in your workplace or at businesses,
doctor's offices or other institutions that collect personally
identifying information from you. Find out who has access to
your personal information and verify that it is handled
securely. Ask about the disposal procedures for those records
as well. Find out if your information will be shared with
anyone else. If so, ask if you can keep your information
confidential.
|
| Give your SSN only when
absolutely necessary. Ask to use other types of identifiers
when possible. If your state uses your SSN as your driver's
license number, ask to substitute another number. Do the same
if your health insurance company uses your SSN as your account
number.
|
| Pay attention to your
billing cycles. Follow up with creditors if your bills don't
arrive on time. A missing bill could mean an identity thief
has taken over your account and changed your billing address
to cover his tracks.
|
| Be wary of promotional
scams. Identity thieves may use phony offers to get you to
give them your personal information.
|
| Keep your purse or
wallet in a safe place at work as well as any copies you may
keep of administrative forms that contain your sensitive
personal information.
|
| Cancel all unused
credit accounts.
|
| When ordering new
checks, pick them up at the bank, rather than having them sent
to your home mailbox. |
Information on Credit
Bureaus
If an
identity thief is opening new credit accounts in your name, these
accounts are likely to show up on your credit report. You can find
out by ordering a copy of your credit report from any of three
major
credit bureaus. Check
your report carefully to make sure it is accurate. See What
should I look for on a credit report to indicate identity theft?
If you do find any inaccurate information, you should check your
reports from the other two credit bureaus. Note: If your personal
information has been lost or stolen, you should check all of your
reports more frequently for the first year.
GOOD
NEWS: A great way to keep
tabs on your identity, and find out FAST if someone is opening
accounts or credit cards in your name, is by checking your credit
report. Soon you'll be able to do it for free!
A recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies to
provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your
request, once every 12 months, from www.annualcreditreport.com.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer
protection agency, has prepared a brochure, Your
Access to Free Credit Reports, explaining your rights and how
to order a free annual credit report.
TIP: Since you
get one free report from each of the 3 bureaus per year, do not
request them all at once. Spread them out, since you then
get three free "snapshots" of your credit per year - all
the better to thwart Identity Theft!
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