This Identity Theft Awareness Week, Illinois Comptroller Mendoza has warnings, advice

This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.

"One of the most important things to remember is that ID theft can happen to anyone, even your children," Comptroller Mendoza said in a news release. "That's why it's so important to safeguard personal information and keep an eye on bank accounts and credit cards."

Identity thieves steal people's personal or financial information. The thieves can then use that information to make purchases with the victims' credit cards, open new credit cards in the victims' names, steal the victims' tax refunds, get a job or medical care under false pretenses, and even impersonate the victims upon being arrested for or convicted of a crime.

The Federal Trade Commission received 1.1 million complaints in 2024, an increase from the year before, Mendoza's office said. A total of 43,000 identity thefts reports in 2024 were in Illinois.

In 2025, about 1.16 million identity theft cases were reported in the first three quarters of the year — more than for all of 2024, according to Motley Fool Money.

Mendoza's office says you have been the victim of identity theft if:

• Purchases you didn't make and don't recognize are showing up on your credit or debit card statements.
• Bills are coming in for items you didn't buy.
• You are denied a loan due to bad credit you didn't know you had.
• You find accounts in your name that you didn't open.
• Medical providers are billing you for services you never used.
• The IRS notifies you that more than one tax return was filed in your name.

Mendoza's office also had some tips for protection from identity theft.

• Keep a close eye on bank account and credit card activity, and regularly check accounts to make sure there are no suspicious withdrawals or purchases.
• Use strong passwords and multifactor identification if possible.
• If possible, avoid sharing full dates of birth, email addresses, and family members' names on social media.
• Carry only the ID and credit cards you need, and not your Social Security card, in your wallet.
• Shred documents that have personal information printed on them before throwing them away.
• Beware of any company or person contacting you by email, phone, or text and asking for personal information unless they are companies with which you frequently do business. They may be trying to trick you.
• Check your credit history at least once a year through Equifax (800-525-6285), Experian (888-397-3742), or TransUnion (800-680-7289), each of which offers a free credit report annually.
• Protect children's personal information, including Social Security numbers. Credit freezes may be advised for kids under 16 in case a fraudster sets out to open an account in their name.

The three credit bureaus can set up a credit freeze to restrict access to credit reports, and nobody, including you, will be able to open a new line of credit until the freeze is lifted.

• Anyone who suspects fraud can also place a fraud alert on their credit report for free.
• If you think their identity has been stolen, you should:
• Call the company or bank from which you suspect the fraud occurred.
• Call the Illinois Attorney General's Identity Theft Hotline at 1-866-999-5630, and/or file a report with the FTC, which will create a recovery plan.
• Place a fraud alert on all credit reports.

Consider going to your local police department to file a report.

"Identity theft isn't just an inconvenience, it can potentially cause very serious problems," Comptroller Mendoza said in the release. "This can include ruining your credit or a thief giving your name to the police if they are arrested."

The Illinois Comptroller's office also offers Smart Consumer workshops covering identity theft and fraud.