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Preventing Identity Theft Guide | Tips & Resources to Protect Yourself

Learn how to safeguard your personal information from identity thieves. Discover prevention tips, steps to take if you're a victim, and essential strategies to secure your identity.

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Preventing Identity Theft Guide | Tips & Resources to Protect Yourself

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  1. Preventing Identity Theft Jennifer Abel Virginia Cooperative Extension

  2. What is Identity Theft? • An identity thief takes some piece of your personal information without your knowledge and uses it to commit fraud or theft. • Fastest growing crime in the U.S. • Example: A thief uses your personal information to open a credit card account in your name

  3. How do thieves get your info? • By stealing wallets and purses • They divert your mail with a change of address form • They steal your mail • They use info you share on the Internet • They find info in your home or in your trash • They get your personnel records at work • They obtain your credit report by posing as a landlord or employer • They buy your info from pretexters

  4. What can they do with your info? • Buy cars by taking out loans in your name • Open a bank account in your name and write bad checks on the account • Counterfeit checks or debit cards and empty your bank account • Establish phone or wireless service in your name • Change the address on your credit card or open new cards in your name. Delinquencies show up on your credit report

  5. How to protect yourself • Check your credit report once per year • Before you reveal personal information, ask how it will be used and shared with whom • Pay attention to your billing cycles • Mail bills at post office or collection boxes instead of from your mailbox • Put vacation hold on mail when you’re away. Call 800-275-8777.

  6. Protecting yourself cont. • Don’t carry your SSN card • Minimize the credit cards you carry • Put passwords on credit card, bank, and phone • Use an assigned license number rather than your SSN • Remove your name from telephone solicitation lists and national mailing lists. • Renew request every 5 years • Remove name from national e-mail lists: www.e-mps.org

  7. More tips for minimizing your risk • Use a locked mailbox at home or a P.O. box • When you order new checks, pick them up rather than having them mailed • Keep a photocopy of all credit cards • Take credit card and ATM receipts with you • Call 888-5OPTOUT to stop receiving pre-screened credit card offers • Shred documents with personal info before discarding

  8. And still more tips • Make sure your personal info at work is kept in a secure place • Make sure personal information in your home is secure • Don’t give out personal information unless you initiated the contact or trust the business • Memorize all passwords • Shield your hand when entering PIN at ATM • Assumption and Deterrence Act of 1998

  9. When SSN is requested, ask... • Why do you need my SSN? • How will my SSN be used? • What law requires me to give you my SSN? • What will happen if I don’t give you my SSN?

  10. What to do if you’re a victim:1. Contact credit bureaus • Call fraud units of three nat’l credit bureaus • Equifas: 800-272-9281 • Experian: 888-397-3742 or 800-301-7195 • Trans Union: 800-680-7289 • Ask that a fraud alert be placed in your file • Add a victim’s statement to your report • Review reports quarterly

  11. 2. Contact creditors • Contact all pertinent creditors, by phone and in writing • Request replacement cards with new account numbers • Victims are liable for no more than $50 fraudulently charged on credit cards • Request copies of all fraudulent credit applications and statements of charges

  12. 3. Contact law enforcement • Contact all police and sheriff's departments with jurisdiction over your case • Get copy of your police report or report number • Give the phone number of your fraud investigator to those requiring proof of your case • Provide as much documented evidence as possible

  13. If your address has been changed on an existing credit card account... • Close the account • When opening a new account, assign a password that must be used before any changes can be made to account • Avoid using birthdate, mother’s maiden name, last 4 digits of SSN, four consecutive numbers • Use different information for PIN

  14. If bank accounts have been tampered with... • Close accounts • Password-only access on new accounts • If checks stolen, stop payment on checks • Contact check verification companies • National Check Fraud Service: 843-571-2143 • SCAN: 800-262-7771 • TeleCheck: 800-710-9898 • Cross Check: 707-586-0551 • Equifax Check Systems: 800-437-5120 • International Check Services: 800-526-5380

  15. If ATM card lost or stolen... • Cancel card as soon as possible • Get a new card with a new PIN • Not liable for more than $50 if report loss or theft within two business days

  16. If the identity theft concerns phone service... • Contact service provider to cancel account • Open new accounts with new PINs • Difficulty removing fraudulent charges from bills? Contact the Federal Communications Commission: 888-CALLFCC; www.fcc.gov/ccb/enforce/complaints.html

  17. Mail Theft • Report mail theft or fraudulent changes of address to: • U.S. Postal Inspections Service, Operation Support Group, 222 S Riverside Plaza, Suite 1250, Chicago, IL 60606-800-372-8437 • www.nps.gov/websites/depart/inspect

  18. Passports • If you’re the victim of identity fraud, someone could fraudulently order a passport in your name • Contact U.S. Passport Agency, 202-647-0518 • Ask for form #DSP-64, used to notify the office of the theft of your passport • Make a copy of the completed form and send original to Agency

  19. Legal Help • If you need an attorney to help resolve your identity theft, contact the Arlington County Bar Association for a referral: 703-228-4465 • $35 consultation fee

  20. More Help • Report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission: 877-IDTHEFT, www.consumer.gov/idtheft • If you can’t get your financial institution to resolve banking ID theft problems, find the agency with jurisdiction over your institution: www.ffiec.gov/nic/default.htm • Contact the office of the VA Attorney General: 800-451-1525

  21. Summary • Guard your personal information • Pay attention to your billing cycles • Report identity theft to credit bureaus, creditors, and law enforcement • Get help from law enforcement, FTC, legal aid • Don’t give up until the situation is resolved and all erroneous information is removed from your credit report

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