Learn How to Protect Yourself!
Every year in the United States, several million people become victims of identity theft. Most victims never even knew they were at risk. Don’t let it happen to you. Read the information below, and take the Identity Theft IQ Test.
Minimizing Your Risk
- Keep items with personal information in a safe place.
- Be cautious about where you leave personal information in your home.
- Don’t carry your Social Security card with you.
- Order a copy of your credit report from each of three major credit reporting agencies every year.
- Destroy personal papers you don’t need.
- Before revealing any personal information, find out how it will be used and whether it will be shared with others.
- Pay attention to billing cycles. Follow up with creditors if your bills don’t arrive on time.
- Guard your mail from theft. Deposit outgoing mail in post office collection boxes or at your local post office. Promptly remove mail once it has been delivered.
- Put passwords on your credit card, bank and phone accounts, and avoid using easily available information like your mother’s maiden name, your birth date or the last four digits of your Social Security number.
- Don’t give out personal information over the phone, through the mail or over the Internet unless you have initiated the contact and you know who you’re dealing with.
What To Do If You Become a Victim
- Contact the fraud department of each of the three major credit bureaus and report that your identity has been stolen. Ask that a fraud alert be placed on your file and that no new credit be granted without your approval.
- Close any fraudulently accessed or open accounts, and put passwords on any new accounts you open.
- File a report with your local police or with the police where the identity theft took place. Get a copy of the report in case the bank, credit card company or others need proof.
- Download the attorney general’s ID Theft Victim Kit for a complete checklist to help you through the process of resolving your ID theft case and clearing your name.
Identity theft is a criminal offense in Indiana, which means that reports of identity fraud to the attorney general’s office and the Better Business Bureau will be directed to local authorities and the prosecuting attorney. The FTC is a clearinghouse for victims of identity theft but doesn’t have the authority to bring criminal cases. It may, however, refer complaints to other appropriate government agencies and private organizations for further action.
Resources
Submit complaints to Federal Trade Commission:
By phone: 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338)
By mail:
Identity Theft Clearinghouse
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20580
Find additional information at these federal government Web sites: www.consumer.gov and www.usps.com/postalinspectors.
Also, the Consumer Protection Division of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office works to safeguard the rights of Indiana citizens every day, visit their website at www.in.gov/attorneygeneral.