
Tips to Help Avoid Identity Theft
Identity theft crimes are on the rise across the nation. Your personal identifying information can be accessed in a variety of ways. An imposter can misuse your information to open fraudulent credit card accounts, secure deposits on cars and housing, obtain employment opportunities, create insurance benefits, and rob retirement earnings. This form of sabotage can devastate your credit, and require endless hours of telephone and written communication to resolve.
In the meantime, you may experience difficulty writing checks, renting apartments, and securing employment. While following these precautionary steps is not a guarantee of protection, it will greatly reduce your chances of becoming the next identity theft victim. Here are a few things you can do to help reduce your risk:
Reduce Access to Your Personal Identifying Information
To minimize the amount of information subject to theft, do not carry extra credit cards, your Social Security card, birth certificate, or passport in your wallet or purse, except when needed.
Shred important documents that may have your personal information, account information, or any information that may be used in identifying you. This includes checks, convenience checks from your credit card company, credit card or banking statements, etc.
Order your credit report once a year from each of the three credit bureaus to check for inaccuracies and fraudulent use of your accounts.You can now receive your credit report free annually. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com.
Remove your name from the marketing lists of the three credit reporting bureaus-Equifax Information Services, www.equifax.com, Experian (TRW), www.experian.com, and Trans Union, www.transunion.com. This will limit the number of pre-approved offers of credit that you receive in the mail. (See their websites for details of how to be removed from their lists.)
Register your home telephone number as well as your cellular phone number form the National Do-Not-Call Registry. This registry prevents most telemarketing calls to the registered number with the exception of calls from political organizations, charities, telephone surveyors and companies with which you have an existing business relationship. Register your numbers by visiting www.donotcall.gov.
Remove your name, home address, and home telephone number from many mailing and telephone lists through the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service and Telephone Preference Service. Visit www.the-dma.org/cgi/offmailinglistdave#regform
While these are just a few tips in helping to minimize the risk for identity theft, consumer awareness is the greatest help. Being aware of the practices of your financial institutions procedures on telemarketing or notification of changes to their customers, will also help.
Prime Care Credit Union is committed to providing excellent service to our members and we would not contact our members via email, unless responding to an email, nor call to solicit or verify any type of account information. If you need assistance in the investigation and/or prosecution of a computer facilitated identity theft crime, contact the Office of the Attorney General, Computer Crime Unit at 877-245-5521 or at cybercrime@oag.state.va.us.
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