Protect
Yourself From Identity Theft
As with any crime, you can't guarantee that
you will never be a victim of identity theft, but you can minimize your risk.
By managing your personal information widely, cautiously and with an awareness
of the issue, you can help guard against identity theft.
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
and even government agencies to get you to reveal your Social Security number,
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 Web site as many companies post
scam alerts when their name is used improperly, or you can call customer service
using the number listed on your account statement or in the telephone book.
Don't
carry your Social Security card; leave it in a secure place.
Secure
personal information in your home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside
help or are having service work done in your home.
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 (800) 275-8777 to request a vacation hold. The Postal Service will hold your
mail at your local post office until you can 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 charge cards that you're
discarding, and credit offers you get in the mail. If you do not use the pre-screened
credit card offers you receive in the mail, you can opt out by calling (888) 5-OPTOUT.
Please note that you will be asked for your Social Security number in order for
the credit bureaus to identify your file so that they can remove you from their
lists and you still may receive some credit offers because some companies use
different lists from the credit bureaus' lists.
Carry
only the identification information and the number of credit and debit cards that
you'll actually need.
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
Social Security number or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.
When opening new accounts, you may find that many businesses still have a line
on their applications for your mother's maiden name. Use a password instead.
Ask
about information security procedures in your workplace or at businesses, doctor's
offices or other institutions that collect personally identifying information
from you. Find out who has access to your personal information and verify that
it is handled securely. Ask about the disposal procedures for those records as
well. Find out if your information will be shared with anyone else. If so, ask
if you can keep your information confidential.
Give
your Social Security number only when absolutely necessary. Ask to use other types
of identifiers when possible. If your state uses your Social Security number as
your driver's license number, ask to substitute another number. Do the same if
your health insurance company uses your Social Security number as your account
number.
Pay attention to your billing cycles.
Follow up with creditors if your bills don't arrive on time. A missing 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 your purse or wallet in a safe place at
work as well as any copies you may keep of administrative forms that contain your
sensitive personal information.
Cancel all unused
credit accounts.
When ordering new checks, pick
them up at the bank, rather than having them sent to your home mailbox.
From:
http://www.ktvu.com/money/2811679/detail.html