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Your everyday transactions reveal bits of personal information such as your bank and credit card account numbers, income, Social Security Number (SSN), name, address and phone numbers. An identity thief obtains personal information and uses it without your knowledge to commit fraud or theft. Once your identity has been stolen, it can take months or even years to clean up the mess criminals make of your finances, credit and good name. Although you cannot completely ensure that identity theft does not happen to you, many precautions can be taken to lesson the chances. Keep reading to learn more about preventing identity theft. How Does Identity Theft Occur? The first step to preventing identity theft is understanding how it occurs. Identity thieves will use a variety of methods to access your personal information, including the following:
What Do Thieves Do With This Information? Once thieves obtain your information, they may take a variety of actions, including the following:
How Do I Tell If My Identity Has Been Stolen? A main way to recognize identity theft is by tracking the balances of all financial accounts, looking for unexplained charges or withdrawals. Other methods of identifying this crime include:
What Other Steps Can I Take To Prevent Identity Theft? Regularly order your credit reports from all three major agencies. Check for any errors or new accounts opened wrongly in your name. If your identity has been stolen, you should order credit reports more frequently for the first year. Federal law allows these bureaus to charge $9 for each credit report, though some states may allow a free or reduced-rate report. The three major credit bureaus are as follows: Equifax Experian TransUnion Protect Yourself: Manage Your Personal Information! The best way you can prevent identify theft is by exercising caution in all your daily activities. For example:
Using Your Computer Safely For identity thieves, your computer is a goldmine of personal information. Follow these tips to safeguard your computer:
What if My ID Has Already Been Stolen? If your personal information has already been stolen, follow these four steps immediately. Make sure you follow up all phone calls with letters sent return receipt requested. Make copies of any letters for your personal files. 1. Put a fraud alert on your credit report and review your credit report. Call any of the three credit bureaus and place a fraud alert on your account. This will prevent the identity thief from opening additional accounts in your name. Once you have identified one bureau, it will notify the three others. All three credit reports will be sent to you. Once you receive the credit report, review it to locate any errors. Notify the credit bureau by telephone and in writing. You should continue to check your credit reports periodically over the first year after you discover theft. 2. Close any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. a. Credit Accounts Credit accounts include all accounts with banks, credit card companies and other lenders, and phone companies, utilities, internet service providers and other service providers. If you are closing existing accounts and opening new ones, use new Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and passwords. If there are fraudulent charges or debits, ask the company about the following forms for disputing those transactions: For new unauthorized accounts, ask if the company accepts the ID Theft Affidavit (available at www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/affidavit.pdf). If they don't, ask the representative to send you the company's fraud dispute forms. If your ATM card has been lost, stolen or otherwise compromised, cancel the card as soon as you can. Get a new card with a new PIN. b. Checks If your checks have been stolen or misused, close the account and ask your bank to notify the appropriate check verification service. While no federal law limits your losses if someone steals your checks and forges your signature, state laws may protect you. Most states hold the bank responsible for losses from a forged check, but they also require you to take reasonable care of your account. For example, you may be held responsible for the forgery if you fail to notify the bank in a timely way that a check was lost or stolen. Contact your state banking or consumer protection agency for more information. You should also contact these major check verification companies. Ask that retailers who use their databases not accept your checks. TeleCheck - 1-800-710-9898 or 927-0188 Certegy, Inc. - 1-800-437-5120 International Check Services - 1-800-631-9656
Call SCAN (1-800-262-7771) to find out if the identity thief 3. File a report with the local police in your community or the police in the community where the fraud took place. By sharing your identity theft complaint with the FTC, you will provide important information that can help law enforcement track identity thieves. The FTC can refer complaints to other appropriate government agencies and companies for further action. The FTC enters the information you provide into a secure database. To file a complaint or to learn more about the FTC's Privacy Policy, visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft. If you don't have access to the internet, you can call the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-IDTHEFY, contact TDD at 202-326-2502 or write to the following address:
Identity Theft Clearinghouse |
