Limit your credit cards – periodically go
through your cards and cancel those you do not absolutely need or use on a regular basis.
Sign the back of cards you do keep with permanent ink.
Do not use your mother’s maiden name as a
"personal password" on your credit cards. With today’s ease of access to
records, your mother’s maiden name can be retrieved within a few key strokes of a
computer keyboard – use some other name such as your first dog or some other item
known only to you.
Write down all your credit card numbers and the
phone number to contact in case of loss or theft and store in a safe place where you can
get to the list.
Make a copy of your driver’s license and your
Social Security Card and store them with the credit card list. Better yet, place the
contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Copy both sides of each license, credit
card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers
and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place.
Contact Experian or one of the other two credit report
companies. Ask them to put a statement on your credit report that says, "Do not
issue credit to anyone without contacting me personally". You will need to supply a
list of items to get this service including a phone bill with your name, address and phone
number on it and a copy of your driver’s license and a copy of your Social Security
Card.
Do not give out personal information on the phone,
through the mail, or on the Internet, unless you initiate the contact or are sure you know
with whom you are dealing. Identity thieves are clever. They have posed as representatives
of banks, Internet service providers (ISPs), and even government agencies to get people to
reveal their Social Security number, mother's maiden name, account numbers, and other
identifying information. Before you share any personal information, confirm that you are
dealing with a legitimate organization. Check an organization's website by typing its URL
in the address line, rather than cutting and pasting it. Many companies post fraud alerts
when their name is used improperly. Alternatively, call customer service using the number
listed on your account statement or in the telephone book.
Do not carry your Social Security number card;
leave it in a secure place. Give your Social Security number only when necessary, and ask
to use other types of identifiers. If your state uses your Social Security number as your
driver's license number, ask to substitute another number. This applies if your health
insurance company uses your Social Security number as your policy number.
Pay cash whenever possible, never give your credit
card number to anyone over the phone, if you do pay with credit card, mark out your card
number on the receipt that contains your name, card, card number and signature on it
– too easy for a thief to take advantage of if they get a hold of it. SHRED
everything that contains personal information.
Consider your checks. The next time you
order checks, have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on
them. If someone takes your checkbook, the person will not know if you sign your
checks with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign
your checks. Put your work phone number on your checks instead of your home phone. If
you have a Post Office Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have
a P.O. Box, use your work address. Never have your Social Security number printed on
your checks. You can write it in if necessary. If you have it printed, anyone can get it.
When ordering new checks, pick them up from the bank instead of having them mailed to your
home mailbox.
Opt out of pre-screening of your credit reports.
The number to call is 1.888.567.8688 (1.888.5OPTOUT). It requires one single
call for all three credit bureaus. This will stop the arrival of pre-approved credit
card offers in your mailbox. Those pre-approved offers are dangerous. It is
easy for someone to steal your mail or simply submit a change of address to divert your
pre-approved offers to a mailbox accessible by a thief.
Be cautious when responding to promotions. Identity
thieves may create phony promotional offers to get you to give them your personal
information.
Be on guard in your home. Secure personal
information in your home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help, or are
having work done in your home.
Treat your mail carefully. Deposit your outgoing
mail in post office collection boxes or at your local post office, rather than in an
unsecured mailbox. Promptly remove mail from your mailbox. If you are planning to be away
from home and cannot pick up your mail, call the U.S. Postal Service at 1.800.275.8777 to
request a vacation hold through their DELIVERY SERVICES program. The Postal Service will
hold your mail at your local post office until you can pick it up or are home to receive
it.
Treat your trash carefully. 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, checks and bank statements, expired charge cards that you're
discarding, and credit offers you get in the mail.
Ask about information security procedures in your
workplace or at businesses, doctor's offices or other institutions that collect your
personally identifying information. Find out who has access to your personal information
and verify that they handle it in a secure manner. Ask about the disposal procedures for
those records as well. Find out if they share your information with anyone else. If so,
ask how they will keep your information confidential.
More organizations are offering consumers choices
about how their personal information is used. For example, many let you "opt
out" of having your information shared with others or used for marketing purposes.
Some companies offer insurance or similar products
that claim to give you protection against the costs associated with resolving an identity
theft case. Be aware that most creditors will only deal with you to resolve problems, so
the insurance company in most cases will not be able to reduce that burden. As with any
product or service, make sure you understand what you are getting before you buy. If you
decide to buy an identity theft insurance product, check out the company with your local
Better Business Bureau, consumer protection agency and state Attorney General to see if
they have any complaints on file.
Finally, below are some helpful points related to your
computer:
o Update virus protection software regularly. Install
patches for your operating system and other software programs to protect against
intrusions and infections that can lead to the compromise of your computer files or
passwords. Ideally, you should set virus protection software to update automatically each
week. The Windows XP operating system also can be set to automatically check for patches
and download them to your computer.
o Do not open files sent to you by strangers, or click on
hyperlinks or download programs from people you do not know. Be careful about using
file-sharing programs. Opening a file could expose your system to a computer virus or a
program known as "spyware," which could capture your passwords or any other
information as you type it into your keyboard.
o Use a firewall program, especially if you use a
high-speed Internet connection like cable, DSL or T-1 that leaves your computer connected
to the Internet 24 hours a day. The firewall program will allow you to stop uninvited
access to your computer. Without it, hackers can take over your computer, access the
personal information stored on it, or use it to commit other crimes.
o Use a secure browser – software that encrypts or
scrambles information you send over the Internet – to guard your online transactions.
Be sure your browser has the most up-to-date encryption capabilities by using the latest
version available from the manufacturer. You also can download some browsers at no cost
over the Internet. When submitting information, look for the "lock" icon on the
browser's status bar to be sure your information is secure during transmission.
o Try not to store financial information on your laptop
unless absolutely necessary. If you do, use a strong password with a combination of
letters (upper and lower case), numbers and symbols. A good way to create a strong
password is to think of a memorable phrase and use the first letter of each word as your
password, converting some letters into numbers that resemble letters. For example, "I
love Felix; he's a good cat," would become 1LFHA6c. Do not use an automatic log in
feature that saves your user name and password, and always log off when you are finished.
In the event that someone steals your laptop, it is harder for the thief to access your
personal information.
o Before you dispose of a computer, delete all the
personal information it stored. Deleting files using the keyboard or mouse commands or
reformatting your hard drive may not be enough because the files may stay on the
computer's hard drive, where a thief can easily retrieve them. Use a "wipe"
utility program to overwrite the entire hard drive.
o Look for website privacy policies. They should answer
questions about maintaining accuracy, access, security, and control of personal
information collected by the site. They should also state how they will use the
information, and whether they provide it to third parties. If you do not see a privacy
policy or if you cannot understand it, take your business elsewhere.
