NEW YORK, August 27, 2001 Protecting Your Identity
Tips On How To Prevent Identity Theft
(CBS) The 1990s spawned a new variety of crooks called identity thieves. Their stock in trade are your everyday transactions. Each transaction requires you to share personal information: your bank and credit card account numbers; your income; your Social Security number; and your name, address and phone numbers. An identity thief takes some piece of your personal information and uses it without your knowledge to commit fraud or theft.
The U.S. Congress asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to provide information to consumers about identity theft and to take complaints from those whose identities have been stolen. The FTC is the federal clearinghouse for complaints by victims of identity theft. Although the FTC does not have the authority to bring criminal cases, they assist victims of identity theft by providing them with information to help them resolve the financial and other problems that can result from identity theft. The following information is provided by the FTC.
Here are some ways that identity thieves work:They open a new credit card account, using your name, date of birth, and Social Security number. When they use the credit card and don’t pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report.
They call your credit card issuer and, pretending to be you, change the mailing address on your credit card account. Then, your imposter runs up charges on your account. Because your bills are being sent to the new address, you may not immediately realize there's a problem.
They establish cellular phone service in your name.
They open a bank account in your name and write bad checks on that account.
How identity thieves get your personal information:
They steal wallets and purses containing your identification and credit and bank cards.
They steal your mail, including your bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, telephone calling cards and tax information.
They complete a "change of address form" to divert your mail to another location.
They rummage through your trash, for personal data in a practice known as "dumpster diving."
They fraudulently obtain your credit report by posing as a landlord, employer or someone else who may have a legitimate need for — and a legal right to — the information.
They get your business or personnel records at work.
They find personal information in your home.
They use personal information you share on the Internet.
They buy your personal information from "inside" sources: an identity thief may pay a store employee for information about you that appears on an application for goods, services or credit.
While you probably can't prevent identity theft entirely, you can minimize your risk. By managing your personal information wisely, cautiously and with an awareness of the issue, you can help guard against identity theft:
Before you reveal any personally identifing information, find out how it will be used and whether it will be shared with others.
Pay attention to your billing cycles. Follow up with creditors if your bills don't arrive on time. A missing credit card bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your credit card account and changed your billing address to cover his tracks.
Guard your mail from theft.
Put 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.
Minimize the identification information and the number of cards you carry to what you'll actually need.
Do not give out personal information on the phone, through the mail or over the Internet unless you have initiated the contact or know who you're dealing with.
Keep items with personal information in a safe place. 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, bank checks and statements that you are discarding, expired charge cards and credit offers you get in the mail.
Be cautious about where you leave personal information in your home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help or are having service work done in your home.
Find out who has access to your personal information at work and verify that the records are kept in a secure location.
Give your SSN only when absolutely necessary.
Don't carry your SSN card; leave it in a secure place.
Order a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies every year. Make sure it is accurate and includes only those activities you've authorized. The three major agencies are: Equifax: www.equifax.com; Experian: www.experian.com; Trans Union: www.tuc.com
If you suspect that your personal information has been hijacked and misappropriated to commit fraud or theft, take action immediately, and keep a record of your conversations and correspondence. Exactly which steps you should take to protect yourself depends on your circumstances and how your identity has been misused. However, three basic actions are appropriate in almost every case:
Contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus and tell them that you're an identity theft victim. Request that a "fraud alert" be placed in your file, as well as a victim's statement asking that creditors call you before opening any new accounts or changing your existing accounts. This can help prevent an identity thief from opening additional accounts in your name.
Contact the creditors for any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently, including credit card companies, phone companies and other utilities, and banks and other lenders. Ask to peak with someone in the security or fraud department of each creditor, and follow up with a letter. It's particularly important to notify credit card companies in writing because that's the consumer protection procedure the law spells out for resolving errors on credit card billing statements. Immediately close accounts that have been tampered with and open new ones with new Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and passwords.
File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place and get a copy of the police report in case the bank, credit card company or others need proof of the crime. Even if the police can't catch the identity thief in your case, having a copy of the police report can help you when dealing with creditors.
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