Courtesy of West Bend Mutual Insurance Company

Identity Theft

This occurs when someone takes a piece of your personal information without your knowledge, such as your bank and credit card account numbers, your Social Security number (SSN), and your name, address, and phone numbers, then uses it to commit fraud or theft. An-all-too common example is when an identity thief uses your personal information to open a credit card account in your name.

Can you prevent identity theft entirely? Probably not, especially if someone is determined to commit the crime. But you can minimize your risk by managing your personal information wisely and cautiously, with an awareness of the issue.

Guard against identity theft in these ways:

1. Before you reveal any personally-identifying information, find out how it will be used and whether it will be shared with others. Ask if you have a choice about the use of your information. Can you choose to have it kept confidential?

2. Pay attention to your billing cycles. Follow up with creditors if your bills don't arrive on time. A missing credit card bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your credit card account and changed your billing address to cover his tracks.

3. Guard your mail from theft. Deposit outgoing mail in post office collection boxes or at your local post office. Promptly remove mail from your mailbox after it's been delivered. 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 request a vacation hold. The Postal Service will hold your mail at your local post office until you can pick it up.

4. Put 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, your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.

5. Minimize the identification information and the number of cards you carry to what you'll actually need.

6. Don't give out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or over the Internet unless you've initiated the contact or know who you're dealing with. Identity thieves may pose as representatives of banks, Internet service providers, and even government agencies to get you to reveal your SSN, mother's maiden name, financial account numbers, and other identifying information. Legitimate organizations with which you do business have the information they need and will not ask for it.

7. Keep items with personal information in a safe place. 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, bank checks and statements you're discarding, expired charge cards, and credit offers you get in the mail.

8. Be cautious about where you leave personal information in your home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help, or are having service work done in your home.

9. Find out who has access to your personal information at work and verify that the records are kept in a secure location.

10. Give your SSN only when absolutely necessary. Ask to use other types of identifiers when possible.

11. Don't carry your SSN card; leave it in a secure place.

12. Order a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies every year. Check to see whether any additional accounts were opened without your consent or whether unauthorized charges were billed to your accounts.

To request copies of your credit reports call:

• Experian 888-397-3742

• Equifax 800-685-1111

• Trans Union 800-916-8800

If you're a victim

Sometimes an identity thief can strike even if you've been very careful about keeping your personal information to yourself. If you suspect your personal information has been hijacked and misappropriated to commit fraud or theft, take action immediately and keep a record of your conversations and correspondence.

• Contact the Social Security Administration's Fraud Hotline at 800-269-0271 to report the unauthorized use of your personal identification information.

• Contact your State Department of Motor Vehicles to see if the Department has issued an unauthorized license number in your name. If so, notify them that you are a victim of identity theft.

• File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place. Even if the police can't catch the identity thief in your case, having a copy of the police report can help you when dealing with creditors.

• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by contacting them:

  • Identity Theft Hotline toll-free at
    1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338),

  • Identity Theft Clearinghouse
    Federal Trade Commission
    600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
    Washington, D.C. 20580-0001,

  • or visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

  • Contact the creditors for any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Ask to speak to someone in the security or fraud department of each creditor and follow up with a letter. Immediately close accounts that have been tampered with and open new ones with new PINs and passwords.

  Information from Federal Trade Commission

Back