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IDENTITY THEFT
The following is summarized from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission identity theft website, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/.
WHAT IS IDENTITY THEFT?
Identity theft occurs when someone appropriates your name, social security number, credit card numbers, or other bits of personal information without your knowledge to commit fraud or theft.
HOW TO MINIMIZE THE RISK OF IDENTITY THEFT: The Federal Trade Commission recommends the following steps to minimize the risk of Identity Theft.
- Before you reveal any personally identifying information, find out how it will be used and whether it will be shared with others. Ask if you have a choice about the use of your information: can you choose to have it kept confidential?
- Pay attention to your billing cycles. Follow up with creditors if your bills don't arrive on time. A missing credit card bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your credit card account and changed your billing address to cover his tracks.
- Guard your mail from theft. Deposit outgoing mail in post office collection boxes or at your local post office. Promptly remove mail from your mailbox after it has been delivered. If you're planning to be away from home and can't pick up your mail, call the U.S. Postal Service at 1-800-275-8777 to request a vacation hold. The Postal Service will hold your mail at your local post office until you can pick it up.
- Put 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 SSN or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.
- Minimize the identification information and the number of cards you carry to what you'll actually need.
- Do not give out personal information on the phone, through the mail or over the Internet unless you have initiated the contact or 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 SSN, mother's maiden name, financial account numbers and other identifying information. Legitimate organizations with whom you do business have the information they need and will not ask you for it.
- Keep items with personal information in a safe place. 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, bank checks and statements that you are discarding, expired charge cards and credit offers you get in the mail.
- Be cautious about where you leave personal information in your home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help, or are having service work done in your home.
- Find out who has access to your personal information at work and verify that the records are kept in a secure location.
- Give your SSN only when absolutely necessary. Ask to use other types of identifiers when possible.
- Don't carry your SSN card; leave it in a secure place.
- Order a copy of your credit report from any or all of the three major credit reporting agencies every year. Make sure your credit report is accurate and includes only those activities you've authorized. You can get a free copy of your credit report every year (see CREDIT BUREAUS/CREDIT REPORTS).
Your credit report contains information on where you work and live, the credit accounts that have been opened in your name, how you pay your bills and whether you've been sued, arrested or filed for bankruptcy. Checking your report on a regular basis can help you catch mistakes and fraud before they wreak havoc on your personal finances.
HOW TO REPORT IDENTITY THEFT:
If you suspect that your personal information has been used to commit fraud, the FTC recommends that you take immediate action and keep a record of your conversations and correspondence. The FTC further suggests that the following actions are appropriate in almost every case.
- First, contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus. (See: CREDIT BUREAUS below)
Tell them that you're an identity theft victim. Request that a "fraud alert" be placed in your file, as well as a victim's statement asking that creditors call you before opening any new accounts or changing your existing accounts. This can help prevent an identity thief from opening additional accounts in your name.
At the same time, order copies of your credit reports from the credit bureaus. Credit bureaus must give you a free copy of your report if your report is inaccurate because of fraud, and you request it in writing. Review your reports carefully to make sure no additional fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name or unauthorized changes made to your existing accounts. Also, check the section of your report that lists "inquiries." Where "inquiries" appear from the company(ies) that opened the fraudulent account(s), request that these "inquiries" be removed from your report. In a few months, order new copies of your reports to verify your corrections and changes, and to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred.
- Second, contact the creditors for any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
Creditors can include credit card companies, phone companies and other utilities, and banks and other lenders. Ask to speak with someone in the security or fraud department of each creditor, and follow up with a letter. It's particularly important to notify credit card companies in writing because that's the consumer protection procedure the law spells out for resolving errors on credit card billing statements. Immediately close accounts that have been tampered with and open new ones with new Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and passwords. Avoid using easily available information like your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your SSN or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.
- Third, file a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.
Get a copy of the police report in case the bank, credit card company or others need proof of the crime. Even if the police can't catch the identity thief in your case, having a copy of the police report can help you when dealing with creditors.
CREDIT BUREAUS
HOW TO FIND PROVIDERS IN CONNECTICUT'S COMMUNITY RESOURCES DATABASE
Search by service names:
Identity Theft Reporting
SOURCE: Federal Trade Commision website
PREPARED BY: 211/rj
CONTENT LAST REVIEWED: April2007
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