10 Tips for Preventing Identity Theft

• Do not give your credit card number or personal information over the phone unless you have initiated the call, or it is a company with which you have current business. Do not give out this information in order to get a prize, sweepstakes winning, or any other benefit without first getting all the company information-name, address, phone, website address-and checking with an independent resource for legitimacy.
  
  
• Don't fall for "phisher" email scams. These identity theft emails come to you looking just like they're from a nationally recognized company. They ask you to go to their website to obtain a new personal identification number (PIN) or some other reason that requires you to divulge your private information, including existing PINs, credit card info, bank account details and more. The website you click to may look exactly like the real version but it will send your details to a criminal ready to make your life miserable. If you get an emails requesting personal information, even though you may have an account with the company, call them using your own telephone number resource for the call (not the number listed in the suspicious email). Ask whether this request for information is real.
   
• Don't be careless with paper statements. Sometimes identity theft perpetrators dig through garbage to find copies of credit card statements, with your name, account number, and some transactions, as well as address. The FTC recommends that you tear or shred any items that have identity-sensitive information on it. The same is true of the credit card offers you get by mail.
  
  
• Be cautious when supplying your Social Security number to any requestor. What's the purpose for the number? Is there another number that can be used? Don't let yourself be strong-armed into giving your SSN loosely. Though lenders & creditors will require the SSN for granting credit, many other businesses can use another identifier, even if somewhat less convenient. It's more convenient for YOU not to be a victim of identity theft.
  
  

• If you leave your home for more than a couple of days, put a vacation hold on your mail at the post office. Call the U.S. Postal Service at 1-800-275-8777 to request the 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. Or, have a neighbor pick up your mail. Social Security statements & checks can also be stolen from your mailbox and used to commit identity theft.
   

• Try to verify whether online merchants are using a secure server, with information from your transactions encrypted into code when shopping via the Internet. If in doubt, try another online vendor.
  
  
• If your bills don't arrive on time, contact the companies. Sometimes identity theft is committed when a thief has changed your address of record with the billing companies to cover his tracks.
  
  
• Carry as few credit cards and personal data cards as possible. For example, don't carry your Social Security card in your purse or wallet unless you absolutely need to.
  
  
• Protect your sensitive documents in general, at home if you have roommates or service people visiting. At work, keep your purse or wallet out of site.

If you believe you have been the victim of identity theft, report it to each of the national credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian & TransUnion) and also to the FTC at www.FTC.gov. You'll get specific instructions from each organization about your next steps. You can correct credit report errors fast yourself or get help form a bona fide credit repair agency, as long as you carefully research their legitimacy.

Not everyone wants to steal your identity and commit fraud. But when everyone helps prevent the easy opportunities that thieves use, we can stop identity theft more quickly.