Awareness is an effective weapon against many forms identity
theft. Be aware of how information is stolen and what you can do to
protect yours, monitor your personal information to uncover any
problems quickly, and know what to do when you suspect your
identity has been stolen.
Armed with the knowledge of how to protect yourself and take
action, you can make identity thieves' jobs much more difficult.
You can also help fight identity theft by educating your friends,
family, and members of your community.
How can you tell if someone has stolen your information?
- Failing to receive bills or other mail on time.
- Receiving credit cards for which you did not apply.
- Denial of credit for no apparent reason.
- Receiving calls from debt collectors or companies about
products or services you didn't buy.
Precautions you should take:
-
Carefully monitor te balances an statements of all your
financial accounts.
-
Look for unexplained charges or withdrawals.
-
Place passwords on all of your financial accounts.
-
Limit the number of credit cards or other identifying
information that you want to carry.
-
Tear or shred any identifying information before throwing it
away. Don't forget pre-approved credit offers, charge
receipts, checks and bank statements and insurance forms.
-
Update the virus protection software on your PC regularly; do
not open files from strangers or companies you don't know.
- Use a "wipe" utility program to overwrite the entire hard drive
disposing of a computer.
Awareness is an effective weapon against many forms identity
theft. Be aware of how information is stolen and what you can do to
protect yours, monitor your personal information to uncover any
problems quickly, and know what to do when you suspect your
identity has been stolen.
Armed with the knowledge of how to protect yourself and take
action, you can make identity thieves' jobs much more difficult.
You can also help fight identity theft by educating your friends,
family, and members of your community.