PART 2 OF 3

(Excerpted from ID THEFT: WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO YOUR GOOD NAME from the Federal Trade Commission.)

MINIMIZE YOUR RISK

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 guard identity theft.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY

• Order a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus. Your credit report contains information on where you work and live, the credit accounts opened in your name, how you pay your bills and whether you’ve been sued, arrested or filed for bankruptcy. Make sure it’s accurate and includes only those activities you’ve authorized. By law, credit bureaus can charge you no more than $9 for a copy of your credit report.

• 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 series of consecutive numbers. When opening new accounts, you may find that many businesses still have a line on their application for your mother’s maiden name. Use a password instead.

• Secure personal information in your home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help or are having service work done in your home.

• Ask about information security procedures in your workplace. Find out who has access to your personal information and verify that records are kept in a secure location. Ask about the disposal procedures for those records as well.

MAINTAINING VIGILANCE

• Order a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once a year. By checking your report on a regular basis you can catch mistakes and fraud before they wreak havoc on your personal finances. Don’t underestimate the importance of this step. One of the most common ways that consumers find out that they’re victims of identity theft is when they try to make a major purchase, like a house or car. The deal can be lost of delayed while the credit report mess is straightened out. Knowing what’s in your credit report allows you to fix problems before they jeopardize a major financial transaction.

• 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 website as many companies post scam alerts when their name in used improperly, or you can call customer service using the number listed on your account statement or in the telephone book.

• 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. If you’re planning to be away from home and can’t pick up your mail, call the U.S. Postal Service at 1-800-275-8777 to request a vacation hold. The Postal Service will hold your mail at your local post office until you pick it up or are home to receive it.

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, checks and bank
statements, expired credit cards that you’re discarding and credit offers you get in the mail.

• Before revealing any personally identifying information (for example, on an application), find out how it will be used and secured, and whether it will be shared with others. Ask if you can have a choice about the use of your information. Can you choose to have it kept confidential?

• Don’t carry your SSN card; leave it in a secure place.

• Give your SSN only when absolutely necessary. Ask to use other types of identifiers when possible. If your state uses your SSN as your diver’s license number, ask to substitute another number.

• Carry only identification the information and the number of credit and debit cards that you’ll actually need.

• 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 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 you purse or wallet in a safe place at work.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – www.ftc.gov. The FTC is educating consumers and businesses about the importance of personal information privacy. For additional publications you may find useful visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

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