ID Theft: What's It All
About
Dear
Consumer:
The Federal Trade
Commission has published this booklet
to help raise consumer awareness of
identity theft.
If you or someone
you know is a victim of identity theft,
please visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
The information you enter there becomes
part of a secure database that’s
used by law enforcement officials across
the nation to help stop identity thieves.
The site also has links to useful information
from other federal agencies, states
and consumer organizations.
You also may want
to call 1-877-ID THEFT, the FTC’s
toll-free ID Theft Hotline, where counselors
help consumers who want or need more
information about dealing with the consequences
of identity theft.
We encourage you to share this booklet
with your family, friends, colleagues,
and neighbors.
Sincerely,
Carolyn S. Shanoff,
Associate Director
Consumer and Business Education
Bureau of Consumer Protection,
Federal Trade Commission
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Contents
Letter
to Consumers
Introduction
How
Identity Theft Occurs
How
Can I Tell if I'm a Victim of Identity
Theft?
Managing
Your Personal Information
A
Special Word About Social Security Numbers
If
Your Identity's Been Stolen
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Introduction
The 1990’s spawned
a new variety of crooks called identity thieves.
Their stock in trade? Your everyday transactions,
which usually reveal bits of your personal
information: your bank and credit card account
numbers; your income; your Social Security
number (SSN); or your name, address, and phone
numbers. An identity thief obtains some piece
of your sensitive information and uses it
without your knowledge to commit fraud or
theft.
Identity theft is a serious
crime. People whose identities have been stolen
can spend months or years — and their
hard-earned money — cleaning up the
mess the thieves have made of their good name
and credit record. Some victims have lost
job opportunities, been refused loans for
education, housing or cars, or even been arrested
for crimes they didn’t commit.
Can you prevent identity
theft from occurring? As with any crime, you
cannot completely control whether you will
become a victim. But, according to the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC), you can minimize your
risk by managing your personal information
cautiously and with heightened sensitivity.
How
Identity Theft Occurs
Skilled identity thieves
use a variety of methods to gain access to
your personal information. For example:
- They get information from businesses
or other institutions by:
- stealing records from their employer,
- bribing an employee who has access
to these records, or
- hacking into the organization’s
computers.
- They rummage through your trash, or the
trash of businesses or dumps in a practice
known as “dumpster diving.”
- They obtain credit reports by abusing
their employer’s authorized access
to credit reports or by posing as a landlord,
employer, or someone else who may have a
legal right to the information.
- They steal credit and debit card numbers
as your card is processed by using a special
information storage device in a practice
known as “skimming.”
- They steal wallets and purses containing
identification and credit and bank cards.
- They steal mail, including bank and credit
card statements, pre-approved credit offers,
new checks, or tax information.
- They complete a “change of address
form” to divert your mail to another
location.
- They steal personal information from
your home.
- They scam information from you by posing
as a legitimate business person or government
official.
Once identity thieves
have your personal information, they may:
- Go on spending sprees using your credit
and debit card account numbers to buy “big-ticket”
items like computers that they can easily
sell.
- Open a new credit card account, using
your name, date of birth, and SSN. When
they don’t pay the bills, the delinquent
account is reported on your credit report.
- Change the mailing address on your credit
card account. The imposter then runs up
charges on the account. Because the bills
are being sent to the new
address, it may take some time before you
realize there’s a problem.
- Take out auto loans in your name.
- Establish phone or wireless service in
your name.
- Counterfeit checks or debit cards, and
drain your bank account.
- Open a bank account in your name and
write bad checks on that account.
- File for bankruptcy under your name to
avoid paying debts they’ve incurred,
or to avoid eviction.
- Give your name to the police during an
arrest. If they are released and don’t
show up for their court date, an arrest
warrant could be issued in your name.
How Can
I Tell if I’m a Victim of Identity Theft?
Monitor the balances of
your financial accounts. Look for unexplained
charges or withdrawals. Other indications
of identity theft can be:
- failing to receive bills or other mail
signaling an address change by the identity
thief;
- receiving credit cards for which you
did not apply;
- denial of credit for no apparent reason;
or
- receiving calls from debt collectors
or companies about merchandise or services
you didn’t buy.
Are There Any Other
Steps I Can Take?
If an identity thief is
opening new credit accounts in your name,
these accounts are likely to show up on your
credit report. You can find out by ordering
a copy of your credit report from any of three
major credit bureaus. If you find inaccurate
information, check your reports from the other
two credit bureaus. Of course, some inaccuracies
on your credit reports may be because of computer,
clerical, or other errors and may not be a
result of identity theft. Note: If your personal
information has been lost or stolen, you may
want to check all of your reports more frequently
for the first year. Federal law allows credit
bureaus to charge you up to $9 for a copy
of your credit report. Some states may allow
a free report or reduced rates.
Managing
Your Personal Information
So how can a responsible
consumer minimize the risk of identity theft,
as well as the potential for damage? When
it involves your personal information, exercise
caution and prudence.
Do It Now
Place passwords on your
credit card, bank and phone accounts. Avoid
using easily available information like your
mother’s maiden name, your birth date,
the last four digits of your SSN or your phone
number, or a series of consecutive numbers.
When you’re asked for your mother’s
maiden name on an application for a new account,
try using a password instead.
Secure personal information
in your home, especially if you have roommates,
employ outside help, or are having service
work done in your home.
Ask about information security
procedures in your workplace. Find out who
has access to your personal information and
verify that your records are kept in a secure
location. Ask about the disposal procedures
for those records as well.
Everyday Diligence
Don’t give out personal
information on the phone, through the mail,
or over the Internet unless you’ve initiated
the contact or are sure you know who you’re
dealing with. Identity thieves can be skilled
liars, and may pose as representatives of
banks, Internet service providers (ISPs),
or even government agencies to get you to
reveal identifying information. Before you
divulge any personal information, confirm
that you’re dealing with a legitimate
representative of a legitimate organization.
Double check by calling customer service using
the number on your account statement or in
the telephone book.
Guard your mail and trash
from theft. Deposit outgoing mail in post
office collection boxes or at your local post
office instead of an unsecured mailbox. Remove
mail from your mailbox promptly. If you’re
planning to be away from home and can’t
pick up your mail, call the U.S. Postal Service
at 1-800-275-8777 to ask for a vacation hold.
To thwart a thief who may pick through your
trash or recycling bins, tear or shred your
charge receipts, copies of credit applications
or offers, insurance forms, physician statements,
checks and bank statements, and expired charge
cards.
Before revealing any identifying
information (for example, on an application),
ask how it will be used and secured, and whether
it will be shared with others. Find out if
you have a say about the use of your information.
For example, can you choose to have it kept
confidential?
Keep your Social Security
card in a secure place and give your SSN only
when absolutely necessary. Ask to use other
types of identifiers when possible. If your
state uses your SSN as your driver’s
license number, ask to substitute another
number.
Limit the identification
information and the number of credit and debit
cards that you carry to what you’ll
actually need.
Keep your purse or wallet
in a safe place at work.
Consider
Your Computer
Your computer can be a goldmine
of personal information to an identity thief.
Here’s how you can safeguard your computer
and the personal information it stores:
- Update your virus protection software
regularly. Computer viruses can have damaging
effects, including introducing program code
that causes your computer to send out files
or other stored information. Look for security
repairs and patches you can download from
your operating system’s Web site.
- Don’t download files from strangers
or click on hyperlinks from people you don’t
know. Opening a file could expose your system
to a computer virus or a program that could
hijack your modem.
- Use a firewall, especially if you have
a high-speed or “always on”
connection to the Internet. The firewall
allows you to limit uninvited access to
your computer. Without a firewall, hackers
can take over your computer and access sensitive
information.
- Use a secure browser — software
that encrypts or scrambles information you
send over the Internet — to guard
the safety of your online transactions.
When you’re submitting information,
look for the “lock” icon on
the status bar. It’s a symbol that
your information is secure during transmission.
- Try not to store financial information
on your laptop unless absolutely necessary.
If you do, use a “strong” password
— that is, a combination of letters
(upper and lower case), numbers, and symbols.
- Avoid using an automatic log-in feature
that saves your user name and password;
and always log off when you’re finished.
If your laptop gets stolen, the thief will
have a hard time accessing sensitive information.
- Delete any personal information stored
on your computer before you dispose of it.
Use a “wipe” utility program,
which overwrites the entire hard drive and
makes the files unrecoverable.
- Read Web site privacy policies. They
should answer questions about the access
to and accuracy, security, and control of
personal information the site collects,
as well as how sensitive information will
be used, and whether it will be provided
to third parties.
A Special
Word About Social Security Numbers
Very likely, your employer
and financial institution will need your SSN
for wage and tax reporting purposes. Other
private businesses may ask you for your SSN
to do a credit check, such as when you apply
for a car loan. Sometimes, however, they simply
want your SSN for general record keeping.
If someone asks for your SSN, ask the following
questions:
- Why do you need it?
- How will it be used?
- How do you protect it from being stolen?
- What will happen if I don’t give
it to you?
If you don’t provide
your SSN, some businesses may not provide
you with the service or benefit you want.
Getting satisfactory answers to your questions
will help you to decide whether you want to
share your SSN with the business.
If Your
Identity’s Been Stolen
Even if you’ve been
very careful about keeping your personal information
to yourself, an identity thief can strike.
If you suspect that your personal information
has been used to commit fraud or theft, take
the following four steps right away.
Remember to follow up all calls in writing;
send your letter by certified mail, return
receipt requested, so you can document what
the company received and when; and keep copies
for your files.
1. Place a fraud
alert on your credit reports and review your
credit reports.
Call the toll-free fraud
number of anyone of the three major credit
bureaus to
place a fraud alert on your credit report.This
can help prevent an identity thief
from opening additional accounts in your name.
As soon as the credit bureau confirms your
fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus
will automatically be notified to place fraud
alerts on your credit report, and all three
reports will be sent to you free of charge.
- Equifax — To report
fraud, call:
1-800-525-6285, and write: P.O. Box 740241,
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
- Experian — To
report fraud, call:
1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742), and write: P.O.
Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
- TransUnion — To
report fraud, call:
1-800-680-7289, and write: Fraud Victim
Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton,
CA 92834-6790
Once you receive your reports,
review them carefully. Look for inquiries
you didn’t initiate, accounts you didn’t
open, and unexplained debts on your true accounts.
You also should check that information such
as your SSN, address(es), name or initial,
and employers are correct. Inaccuracies in
this information also may be due to typographical
errors. Nevertheless, whether the inaccuracies
are due to fraud or error, you should notify
the credit bureau as soon as possible by telephone
and in writing. You should continue to check
your reports periodically, especially in the
first year after you’ve discovered the
theft, to make sure no new fraudulent activity
has occurred. The automated “one-call”
fraud alert process only works for the initial
placement of your fraud alert. Orders for
additional credit reports or renewals of your
fraud alerts must be made separately at each
of the three major credit bureaus.
2. Close any accounts
that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
Credit Accounts
Credit accounts include
all accounts with banks, credit card companies
and other lenders, and phone companies, utilities,
ISPs, and other service
providers.
If you’re closing existing accounts
and opening new ones, use new Personal Identification
Numbers (PINs) and passwords.
If there are fraudulent
charges or debits, ask the company about the
following forms for disputing those transactions:
- For new unauthorized accounts, ask if
the company accepts the ID Theft Affidavit
(available at www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/affidavit.pdf).
If they don’t, ask the representative
to send you the company’s fraud dispute
forms.
- For your existing accounts, ask the representative
to send you the company’s fraud dispute
forms.
- If your ATM card has been lost, stolen
or otherwise compromised, cancel the card
as soon as you can. Get a new card with
a new PIN.
Checks
If your checks have been
stolen or misused, close the account and ask
your bank to notify the appropriate check
verification service. While no federal law
limits your losses if someone steals your
checks and forges your signature, state laws
may protect you. Most states hold the bank
responsible for losses from a forged check,
but they also require you to take reasonable
care of your account. For example, you may
be held responsible for the forgery if you
fail to notify the bank in a timely way that
a check was lost or stolen. Contact your state
banking or consumer protection agency for
more information.
You also should contact
these major check verification companies.
Ask that retailers who use their databases
not accept your checks.
TeleCheck
— 1-800-710-9898 or 927-0188
Certegy, Inc.
— 1-800-437-5120
International Check
Services — 1-800-631-9656
Call SCAN (1-800-262-7771)
to find out if the identity thief has been
passing bad checks in your name.
3. File a report
with your local police or the police in the
community where the identity theft took place.
Keep a copy of the report.
You may need it to validate your claims to
creditors. If you can’t get a copy,
at least get the report number.
4. File a complaint
with the FTC.
By sharing your identity
theft complaint with the FTC, you will provide
important information that can help law enforcement
officials track down identity thieves and
stop them. The FTC also can refer victim complaints
to other appropriate government agencies and
companies for further action. The FTC enters
the information you provide into our secure
database.
To file a complaint or to
learn more about the FTC’s Privacy Policy,
visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
If you don’t have access to the Internet,
you can call the FTC’s Identity Theft
Hotline: toll-free 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338);
TDD: 202-326-2502; or write: Identity Theft
Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.
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