Ten Tips to Reduce Your Risk of Identity Theft

Individuals alone cannot prevent identity theft. While you may do an excellent job safeguarding your own personal information, companies that profit from our information often have inadequate security standards. We need broader change to truly combat identity theft, and consumers should demand legislative action to address that issue. In the meantime, here are ten steps you can take to reduce your chance of becoming a victim:

1. Secure your personal information.

• Guard your mail. Consider buying a mailbox that locks or installing a mail slot in your door to protect thieves from stealing your bills, convenience checks, pre-approved credit offers, and other mail that contains sensitive information.
• Shred and destroy any bills, account statements, credit card offers, or files containing sensitive information before throwing them away.
• Carry only the information you need. When you go out, only take the debit cards, credit cards and identification that you will need to use.
• Use effective passwords for your financial accounts. Avoid using easily available information such as your mother's maiden name, your birth date, or the last four numbers of your social security number.

2. Protect you social security number.

• Do not carry your social security card in your wallet.
• Request alternative identification numbers. Do not allow your social security number to be used on your driver's license or identification cards for your employer, school, or insurer.
• Do not use your social security number as a password or security code on your accounts or the Internet.

3. Tell companies not to sell or share your data.

• Stop creditors from sending pre-approved credit offers through the mail. Call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT, a number maintained by the three major credit bureaus. Press option 3 to remove your name permanently. You can also opt-out of these offers electronically at www.optoutprescreen.com.
• Opt-out of information sharing. Federal law allows you the stop your bank and other financial institutions from sharing your personal information with most outside companies. Review the "Privacy Policies" your financial institutions send you once a year, and write to any companies that you want to restrict from sharing your personal information. Remember that even if you “opt-out,” companies can still share some of your information with their own affiliates.

4. No "Phishing." Phishing is a form of Internet fraud that involves thieves sending email or pop-up messages to trick individuals into providing their personal information, like account numbers and passwords. These fraudsters are sophisticated and may appear to be a bank or other financial institution that you deal with.

• Never respond to an email or pop-up message that asks for your personal or financial information. Legitimate companies will not ask for this information.
• Never click on the link in these messages. Fraudsters can make the link look like its going to your financial institution, but in fact it's going to a different site.

5. Be careful on the Internet.

• Never use your debit card on the Internet. Victims of debit card fraud have less legal protection than victims of credit card fraud.
• Deal only with reputable companies that you know.
• Check privacy and security policies of websites, and look for opportunities to opt-out of information sharing.
• Install firewalls and virus-detection software on your computers, and keep them up to date.

6. Keep track of your financial accounts

• Check your bills and account statements each month for fraudulent charges and report any suspicious charges immediately.
• Make sure you receive your statements on time. Call your creditor if you do not receive them because thieves may have made a fraudulent change of address on your account.

7. Monitor your credit reports.

• Order a FREE copy of your credit report every 12 months from each of the three major credit bureaus. You can request all three reports at once, or stagger them throughout the year. Review your credit report for errors. Verify that :
-Your name, address, social security number are correct;
- All inactive accounts are closed;
- No accounts or debts that do not belong to are listed.
- No unfamiliar parties have recently obtained a copy of your credit report.

8. Take control over your credit. You may be able to place fraud alerts on your credit report to reduce your risk of identity theft.

• Military Alerts: If you are a member of the military and are on active duty, you may place an active duty alert on your credit file. The active duty alert will require creditors to take additional steps to verify an applicant's identity before issuing credit in your name.
- Call one of the three national credit bureaus to place an activity duty alert on your file. It will contact the other credit bureaus.
- The active duty alert will remain valid for twelve months.

• Fraud alert: If you believe that you are a victim of fraud, you may place a fraud alert on your credit reports that will require creditors to take additional steps to verify an applicant's identity before issuing credit in your name.
-Call one of the three national credit bureaus to flag your file with a fraud alert. It will contact other credit bureaus. This initial fraud alert will remain valid for 90 days
- Ask for a free credit report and review it thoroughly. Fraud victims are entitled to a free credit report.
- If you file a report with law enforcement, you may place an extended fraud alert on your credit report that will remain valid for seven years. With an extended alert on your report, you may request two free credit reports a year.

9. Demand strong protections.

• Ask questions whenever merchants, creditors, schools and others ask you for sensitive personal information that seems unnecessary for the transaction. Ask how the information will be used and how it will be safeguarded
• Talk to your employer about how it safeguards your personal information. Request that social security numbers not be used as employee identification numbers.

10. Be active.

While these tips can help reduce your risk of fraud, more needs to be done to protect consumers from identity theft. To help pass stronger financial privacy laws, visit www.copirg.org, or call 303-573-7474.

How to Contact the Credit Bureaus:

Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Report fraud: (800) 525-6285
Order report: (800) 685-1111

Experian
P.O. Box 1017
Allen, TX 75013
Report fraud: (800) 301-7195
Order report: (800) 682-7654

Trans Union
P.O. Box 390
Springfield, PA 19064
Report fraud: (800) 680-7289:
Order report: (800) 916-8800

Free Annual Credit Report:
www.annualcreditreport.com
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
877-322-8228