Consider This

Safeguard Your Identity

We’ve all seen those funny television commercials in which a little old lady, speaking in a husky male voice, talks about the good time she had buying hot rod parts and other neat stuff with someone else’s credit card number. There’s nothing funny, however, about the subject of the commercial—identity theft—especially
if you happen to be the victim.

Identity theft—the fraudulent use of someone else’s good name and credit rating to obtain and use credit—is the fastest growing white-collar crime in the United States.

According to the FBI, an estimated 700,000 Americans fall victim to identity theft each year. Identity theft is on the rise and spreading epidemically because the Internet makes it easier for hackers to access personal information and harder to catch them when they do. While most victims do not end up paying directly for the fraudulent charges, it can take months or even years to undo the damage to
their reputations and credit ratings.

Here are some tips on how to protect your privacy and personal information:

• Never provide your personal information such as Social Security number, bank or credit card passwords or account numbers, in response to an unsolicited request by phone or e-mail. Online “phishers” often contact people by e-mail with requests to “update” information or suggest there is a problem with a credit card/bank account or auction service account like Ebay. Links direct unsuspecting consumers to a site that exactly mimics the real thing.

• Carry as few credit cards and bank cards as possible with you, and if one is lost, alert the credit card company or financial institution immediately.

• Place passwords on your credit card, bank and phone accounts. This prevents anyone else from changing the address or other information.

• Keep passwords and security codes separate from credit and bank cards, and change your passwords regularly.

• Keep your computer secure. Run virus checks regularly and make sure your antivirus program is up to date.

• Shop online only on secure Web sites.

• Check monthly credit card and bank statements immediately to make sure all charges are accurate.

• Check your credit report regularly to make sure accounts and financial information are accurate. You are entitled to receive one free credit report a year from each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, (800) 525-6285; Experion, (888) 397-3742; and TransUnion, (800) 680-7289.

• Install a locking mailbox, and remove your mail as soon as possible after it has been delivered. If you’re on the road as much as over-the-road professionals are, consider getting a post office box if you haven’t already.

• Before you throw them away, shred credit card and banking statements, credit card offers and tax information.

Sources: Federal Trade Commission, FBI