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IDENTITY THEFT WHAT TO KNOW WHAT TO DO
What is Identity Theft? Identity theft is a serious crime. It can disrupt
your finances, credit history, and reputation, and take time, money, and
patience to resolve. Identity theft happens when someone steals your
personal information and uses it without your permission.
Identity thieves might: • go through trash cans and dumpsters, stealing bills and
documents that have sensitive information. • work for businesses, medical offices, or government
agencies, and steal personal information on the job. • misuse the name of a legitimate business, and call or send
emails that trick you into revealing personal information. • pretend to offer a job, a loan, or an apartment, and ask
you to send personal information to “qualify.” • steal your wallet, purse,
backpack, or mail, and remove your credit cards, driver’s license,
passport, health insurance card, and other items that show personal
information.
How to Protect Your
Information • Read your credit reports. You have a
right to a free credit report every 12 months from each of the three
nationwide credit reporting companies. Order all three reports at once,
or order one report every four months. To order, go to
annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228. • Read your bank, credit card, and account
statements, and the explanation of medical benefits from your health
plan. If a statement has
mistakes or doesn’t come on time, contact the business. • Shred all documents that show personal,
financial, and medical information before you throw them away. • Don’t respond to email, text, and phone
messages that ask for personal information. Legitimate companies don’t
ask for information this way. Delete the messages. • Create passwords that mix letters,
numbers, and special characters. Don’t use the same password for more
than one account. • If you shop or bank online, use websites
that protect your financial information with encryption. An encrypted
site has “https” at the beginning of the web address; “s” is for secure. • If you use a public wireless network,
don’t send information to any website that isn’t fully encrypted. • Use anti-virus and anti-spyware
software, and a firewall on your computer. • Set your computer’s operating system, web browser, and security system to update automatically.
If Your Identity is
Stolen...
1 Flag Your
Credit Reports Call one of the nationwide credit reporting
companies, and ask for a fraud alert on your credit report. The company
you call must contact the other two so they can put fraud alerts on your
files. An initial fraud alert is good for 90 days.
Equifax 1-800-525-6285
Experian 1-888-397-3742
TransUnion 1-800-680-7289
2 Order Your
Credit Reports
Each company’s credit report about you is slightly
different, so order a report from each company. When you order, you must
answer some questions to prove your identity. Read your reports
carefully to see if the information is correct. If you see mistakes or
signs of fraud, contact the credit reporting company.
3 Create an
Identity Theft Report An Identity Theft Report can help you get
fraudulent information removed from your credit report, stop a company
from collecting debts caused by identity theft, and get information
about accounts a thief opened in your name. To create an Identity Theft
Report: • file a complaint with the FTC at
ftc.gov/complaint or 1-877-438-4338; TTY: 1-866-653-4261. Your completed
complaint is called an FTC Affidavit. • take your FTC Affidavit to your local
police, or to the police where the theft occurred, and file a police
report. Get a copy of the police report. The two documents comprise an Identity Theft
Report.
Red Flags of
Identity Theft • mistakes on your
bank, credit card, or other account statements • mistakes on the
explanation of medical benefits from your health plan • your regular bills
and account statements don’t arrive on time • bills or collection
notices for products or services you never received • calls from debt
collectors about debts that don’t belong to you • a notice from the IRS
that someone used your Social Security number • mail, email, or calls
about accounts or jobs in your minor child’s name • unwarranted
collection notices on your credit report • businesses turn down
your checks • you are turned down
unexpectedly for a loan or job |
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