Tips for Protecting Yourself Against Identity Theft and Online Scams
1. Call 1-888-5OPTOUT to have your name removed from the lists the Credit Bureaus share.
2. Get your name off the national lists for direct mail and telemarketing. www.dmaconsumers.org Choose the privacy link.
3. The Federal Trade Commission offers a national Do Not Call registry. Go to www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx or to the FTC website for further information. (www.ftc.gov)
4. You may request a free credit report annually from each of the three major consumer reporting agencies. If you have questions regarding this, the Federal Trade Commission has published a helpful Q & A at: www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.htm. It will also allow you to see if an identity thief has used your personal information to obtain credit. One central website, toll-free telephone number, and mailing address have been set up for this purpose.
Website: www.annualcreditreport.com
Toll free telephone: 877-322-8228
Mail: Complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form (available at www.ftc.gov/credit) and mail it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281,
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually for your free report. Beware of potential scams that initiate contact with you asking for your personal information in order to provide this.
5. You can also pay for a service to alert you when new activity happens on your credit report, which will help you to monitor for identity theft. You can sign up for this at the websites of the three major credit reporting agencies:
6. Shred credit card or other offers you receive in the mail that you are not going to use (don’t just throw them in the trash). ID Thieves find a lot of valuable information in the trash.
7. Never give out your personal information over the phone unless you initiated the call and you are comfortable that the person you are giving it to will use it appropriately. If anyone (such as a collection agency) calls your home looking for someone with your name, do NOT share your Social Security Number. Make them tell you the number they are looking for.
8. Mail your bills from a Postal Service mailbox rather than leaving them in your home mailbox to be picked up. An ID thief could steal your outgoing bill from your mailbox and get your checking account number and signature off the check you are mailing.
9. Use something other than Mother’s Maiden Name for your verification code at your financial institution(s), your computer passwords, etc. Come up with codes that you can remember, but that are not easily figured out by someone else. This is a good practice for any password you use in connection with your financial transactions.
10. If you think you have been the victim of identity theft:
- Notify the Security Department at your financial institution(s) and credit card companies right away so they can help you arrange any account changes that are needed.
- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a website with many consumer resources (www.ftc.gov) and a link to an additional resource to help you limit the damage done by the ID theft at www.consumer.gov/idtheft/ or call 1-877-ID THEFT (438-4338). At the website, there is an ID Theft Affidavit that is one form that you should be able to use with all institutions, to make the process easier for you.
- If you discover that someone is using your identity fraudulently, report the identity fraud to one of the consumer reporting agencies, and request that they alert the other two as well. There are fraud sections on each of their websites listed above. They will post a security alert on your credit file, opt you out of pre-approved credit or insurance offers and mail you a copy of your credit file. Experian 1-888-397-3742, TransUnion 1-800-680-7289 or Equifax 1-800-525-6285.
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