 >> Main Page >> Previous Page Identity Theft Protection Plan(numbers correspond to questions on previous page)1.Criminals may pose as a representative of a financial organization or other trusted advisor and will ask you to disclose personal information over the phone or by e-mail. A legitimate organization will ask you to supply the information in person, by postal mail, or by dialing in to a known number. 2.Criminals often obtain personal information by rummaging through the trash of homes and businesses. Don’t throw away credit card offers, copies of tax returns, bank and credit card statements or any other documents that contain personal information. 3.If a criminal obtains your name, address, driver’s license and social security number he may obtain new credit, create false identification records, and even commit felony crimes in your name. Don’t carry your social security card with you and don’t have your social security number printed on any documents you carry with you. 4.Criminals may be listening or lurking nearby to copy down your personal information when you provide it to someone legitimately. Always be aware of who is around, and shield the number pad when entering your personal identification number at the ATM or when purchasing items at a counter. 5.An identity thief may operate silently in the background for months, or even years, using your credit for small transactions here or there. Check your statement carefully to verify that all transactions are yours. Call your bank or credit issuer promptly if you are missing a statement. 6.While it was a common practice in the past, for convenience, to have your driver’s license number or even your social security number printed on your checks, it now puts you at risk. 7.Criminals will cruise neighborhoods to see if there is outgoing mail that can be stolen from mailboxes. Make sure that you drop your mail in a secured US Postal Service mailbox, take it to the post office, or some other secure place. 8.You are entitled to receive a free credit report once per year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies, Experion, Equifax and TransUnion. Reviewing these reports is an excellent way to create a benchmark of your good credit standing in the event that an identity thief strikes in the future. 9.A Credit Monitoring Service is the only early warning system that exists today to tell you that an identity theft has stolen your identity. A monitoring service, with weekly alerts to changes in your credit activity, can be a small price to pay for the peace of mind of knowing that someone is watching for the signs that a criminal is lurking in the background. The thief will typically operate slowly, determining if anyone is watching before making their big strike. Be vigilant and have your credit monitored for suspicious activity. |
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