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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?
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Monitor
the balances of your financial accounts. Look for
unexplained charges or withdrawals. |
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Other
indications of identity theft include:
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failing to receive bills or other mail, which may signal
an address change by the identity thief, |
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receiving credit cards for which you did not apply, |
|
being
denied credit for no apparent reason, or |
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receiving calls or letters from debt collectors or
businesses about merchandise or services you did not
buy. |
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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. |
| To thwart an
identity thief who may pick through your trash or
recycling bins to capture your personal information,
tear or shred any documents showing
account numbers, passwords, etc. |
|
| 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. |
| 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. 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.
Now you can 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!
Check out these
links for more information:
The FTC National Resource for ID Theft
FDIC Consumer Alerts - ID Theft |
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