Protect Yourself from Identity Theft & Fraud
There are many ways identity thieves can steal your personal information - both online and offline.
Ways Identity Theft Can Happen
There are many ways identity thieves can steal your personal information – both online and offline.
- Dumpster Diving – Rummaging through trash looking for bills or other paper with your personal information on it.
- Skimming – Stealing credit/debit card numbers by using a special storage device when processing your card.
- Phishing – Pretending to be a financial institution, company or government agency and sending emails or text messages asking you to reveal your personal information via an email, text message, phone call or website pop-up message.
- Hacking – Hacking into your email or other online accounts to access your personal information, or into a company’s database to access its records.
- ”Old-Fashioned” Stealing – Stealing wallets and purses, mail (including bank and credit card statements), pre-approved credit offers and new checks or tax information. They steal personnel records from their employers, or bribe employees who have access.
Identity Theft Red Flags
One of the best ways you can protect yourself from identity theft is to be aware of suspicious activity and routinely monitor your financial accounts and billing statements.
Suspicious activities that may require immediate attention are:
- Bills do not arrive as expected
- Unexpected credit cards or account statements
- Denials of credit for no apparent reason
- Calls or letters about purchases you did not make
- Charges on your financial statement that you don’t recognize
Ways Identity Theft Can Happen
There are many ways identity thieves can steal your personal information – both online and offline.
- Dumpster Diving – Rummaging through trash looking for bills or other paper with your personal information on it.
- Skimming – Stealing credit/debit card numbers by using a special storage device when processing your card.
- Phishing – Pretending to be a financial institution, company or government agency and sending emails or text messages asking you to reveal your personal information via an email, text message, phone call or website pop-up message.
- Hacking – Hacking into your email or other online accounts to access your personal information, or into a company’s database to access its records.
- ”Old-Fashioned” Stealing – Stealing wallets and purses, mail (including bank and credit card statements), pre-approved credit offers and new checks or tax information. They steal personnel records from their employers, or bribe employees who have access.
Identity Theft Red Flags
One of the best ways you can protect yourself from identity theft is to be aware of suspicious activity and routinely monitor your financial accounts and billing statements.
Suspicious activities that may require immediate attention are:
- Bills do not arrive as expected
- Unexpected credit cards or account statements
- Denials of credit for no apparent reason
- Calls or letters about purchases you did not make
- Charges on your financial statement that you don’t recognize
Monitor Your Credit Report
Monitoring your credit report along with your financial statements is one of the best ways to help detect identity theft on your accounts.
It includes information on all of your credit accounts, outstanding loans, the balances on your credit cards and loans, as well as your history for paying bills. which makes it easy to spot if somebody has accessed your accounts fraudulently.
The law requires the major nationwide credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, to give you a free copy of your credit report every 12 months if you ask for it.
