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| Protect Yourself from Identity Theft |
| Frequently Asked Questions |
| 1. What is identity theft? Answer |
| 2. What information do identity thieves want? Answer |
| 3. How do thieves steal your identity? Answer |
| 4. What do identity thieves do with the information they gather? Answer |
| 5. How can you protect your identity? Answer |
| 6. What should you do if you think you are a victim of identity theft? Answer |
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| 1. What is identity theft? |
Identity theft is the fraudulent use of your name and identifying data and occurs
when your personal information is stolen and used for someone else's financial
gain. Thieves will use your identity to open bank accounts and to obtain credit,
merchandise or services. Victims often are left with ruined credit.
The federal government reports that identity theft is now the fastest-growing
financial crime. Nearly ten million Americans were victimized last year, resulting
in $5 billion in individual losses and $45 billion in corporate and banking
losses.
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| 2. What information do identity thieves want? |
Identity thieves want your full name, social security number, and date of birth.
Then, they want bank and credit card numbers and expiration dates, any financial
records they can find, and even the credit card offers you receive in the mail.
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3. How do thieves steal your identity?
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Some examples:
- Thieves retrieve credit card receipts, bank statements, and bills from your
wallets and purses and also from your garbage.
- They steal from your mailbox
and even complete change of address forms to divert your mail to another location.
- Thieves send you phony e-mail notices that claim to be from your bank, credit
card company or a merchant and ask for your account information to solve a supposed
problem. This scam is called "phishing."
- Unscrupulous telemarketers will convince you to give them personal information
over the telephone.
Criminals will "shoulder surf" - look over your shoulder as you enter
your PIN number at an ATM machine.
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| 4. What do identity thieves do with the information they gather? |
Some examples:
- Thieves use your identity to empty your bank accounts and to charge expensive
items on your credit cards.
- They will open new bank accounts, credit card and
store accounts and apply for loans using your name and credit history.
- They
will print checks using your information and use them to go on a spending spree.
- They will establish phone and wireless services in your name.
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| 5. How can you protect your identity? |
Some examples:
| Keep a list of all your account numbers including your credit card numbers
and expiration dates as well as the phone numbers of your creditors. |
| Do NOT reply to e-mail notices, even if official-looking, that request personal
or account information. Instead, call the company or go to their Web site
if you know the correct Internet address. |
| Do NOT give out your social security number for identity purposes, and do
not carry it in your wallet. |
| Do NOT carry extra credit cards in your wallet. |
| Do NOT carry your birth certificate or passport with you unless you are
traveling and it is needed for identification. |
| Give NO personal information over the phone to telemarketers. If you wish
to purchase something or to donate to a charity, ask them to send you a bill. |
| Do NOT give your credit card information to companies over the phone unless
you initiated the call and have a trusted relationship with the company you
have called. |
| When purchasing items over the Internet, give out your credit card number
only after you have absolutely ensured that the Web site is a valid and secure
one and is from a company you trust. Review the company's Privacy Statement
site to determine how they use information about you. |
| If your wallet, credit cards or checks are stolen, cancel your accounts.
When ordering new checks from your bank, pick them up rather than having them
mailed to you. |
| Carefully review your bank statements and bills for accuracy and contact
your creditors if your usual bills do not arrive on time. |
| When creating passwords and PINs, do not use the last four digits of your
SS number, your birth date, middle name, mother's maiden name or anything
that can be easily traced to you. Do not record those numbers on anything
in your wallet. |
| Shred anything that has personal identification information on it including
credit card or ATM receipts. Be sure to shred pre-approved credit offers that
come in the mail. |
| Shield your ATM or telephone key pad when using an ATM or making a phone
call with your phone calling card. Some shoulder surfers' use binoculars or
video cameras to record your numbers. |
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| 6. What should you do if you think you are a victim of identity theft? |
| Step 1. |
Contact your local law enforcement
agency (and retain a copy of any filed report). |
| Step 2. |
Contact your credit card companies,
banks, investment companies, licensing agencies, etc. |
| Step 3. |
Call the three major credit agency Fraud Hotlines:
- Equifax - 1-800-525-6285
- Experian - 1-888-397-3742
- TransUnion - 1-800-680-7289
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| Step 4. |
Call the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Hotline to obtain its ID Theft Affidavit
at 1-877-438-4338.
- Or, (The information you provide is up to you. However, if you do not provide your
name or other information, it may be impossible for the FTC to refer, respond
to, or investigate your complaint or request.)
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| Step 5. |
If you have further questions, contact the Sexy真人 Division of Banking at 609-292-7272. |
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| IMPORTANT NOTE: The FTC serves
as the federal clearinghouse for complaints by victims of identity theft.
However, the FTC does not resolve individual consumer problems. Your complaint
helps the federal government investigate fraud, and may lead to law enforcement
action. |
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| Additional Resources |
- (Please note: on July 21, 2011, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) became part of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).)
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