Despite the growing public awareness of the crime of identity theft- when someone uses your personal information to gain credit in your name – the number of cases continues to grow at an alarming rate. Identity theft takes money from businesses, increases the cost of credit for everyone, and damages the victim’s credit rating.
The two most important things you can do to protect yourself from identify theft are to safeguard your personal information and check your credit report regularly for suspicious activity. Protect your personal information by:
- Destroying any documents containing personal information, account information, or social security numbers – do not simply throw them out or recycle them. Use a shredder or rip up the papers manually and obliterate the information before you dispose of any such documents. Remember, even in our high tech age, “dumpster diving” is still a popular source for the ID thief.
- Do not give your personal information out to anyone over the phone unless you are absolutely positive of the identity of the recipient. Many recent scams involve calling potential victims and posing as a bank or credit card company calling to “verify” account information. Be wary of giving such information to anyone who calls you. Treat your e-mail the same way. Do not respond to any e-mail requesting personal information without verifying the identity of the recipient. When in doubt, do not give out the information.
- Do not discuss personal information, account information, or social security numbers on a cordless phone. Although it is a federal crime to listen in on cell phone calls, and is virtually impossible to do so with digital cell phones, anyone with a scanner can legally listen to your conversations on a cordless phone.
Request a copy of your credit report from at least one of the major credit reporting services and check it for suspicious activity. Check for any open accounts that do not belong to you or a “new” address that is not yours. If you find anything suspicious, investigate immediately by calling the credit provider to find out if it is your account or not. You can request a copy of your credit report from:
- Equifax: 1(800)525-6285
- Experian: 1(888)397-3742
- Trans Union: 1(800)680-7289
What should you do if you are a victim? The Federal Trade Commission, the agency with primary responsibility for monitoring and investigating identity theft, recommends that you take the following action immediately upon discovering that you are a victim:
- Contact all credit reporting agencies, report the ID theft, place a “fraud alert” on your account, and request that a note be placed on your credit report that no new accounts should be opened without your express authorization.
- Contact the security departments for every fraudulent account. Request that the account be closed immediately and place a password on any new accounts opened there.
- File a police report with your local police. Get a copy of the report because you may need to send it to the credit providers where the fraudulent account was opened.
- Report the theft to the ID Theft Clearinghouse at 1(877)438-4338 or at www.consumer.gov/idtheft. Information you provide will help law enforcement across the country investigate these crimes.
One final thing you can do is to contact your elected representative to encourage anti-identity theft legislation. In Pennsylvania, a legislator who was a victim of identity theft is sponsoring legislation that would require credit providers to provide notice of any new account at the last address on your credit report, allowing consumers to verify if the account is genuine or bogus. Even a simple reform like this will help consumers fight identity theft.
— Mike Malin