NOTICE OF IDENTITY THEFT
PREVENTION TIPS ON FRAUD AND IDENTITY THEFT
If you encounter an unsolicited email that asks you, either directly or through a web site, for personal financial or identity information such as Social Security number, passwords, or other identifiers, exercise extreme caution
If you need to update information online, use the normal process you have used before, or open a new browser window and type in the web site address of the legitimate company's account maintenance page
If a web site address is unfamiliar, it is probably not real. Only use the address that you have used before, or start at your normal homepage
Always report fraudulent or suspicious email to your IPS. Reporting instances of spoof web sites will help get these bogus web sites shout down before they can do any more harm
Most companies require you to log in to a secure site. Look for the "lock" icon at the bottom of the browser and "https" in front of the web site address.
Take note of the header address on the web site. Most legitimate sites will have a relatively short Internet address, which usually depicts the business name followed by ".com" or ".org." Spoof sites are more likely to have an excessively long string of characters in the header, with the legitimate business name somewhere in the string, or possibly not at all.)
If you have any doubts about an email or web site, contact the legitimate company directly. Make a copy of the questionable web site's URL address, send it to the legitimate business, and ask if the request is legitimate
Do not give personal information, such as account numbers or Social Security numbers, over the telephone, through the mail, or over the Internet unless you initiated the contact or know with whom you are dealing.
Do not give any of your personal information in response to an unsolicited e-mail claiming to be from your financial institution or some other highly credible source. This is a technique referred to as "phishing." Be sure to validate the request before providing the information (for example, contact the customer service telephone number of your account statement to ask about the request).
Do not give any of your personal information to any web sites that do not use encryption or other secure methods to protect it
Use a firewall if you have a high-speed Internet connection.
Store personal information in a safe place and tear up old credit card receipts, ATM receipts, old account statements, and unused credit card offers before throwing them away
Protect your PINs and other passwords. Avoid using easily available information like your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your Social Security number, your phone number etc.
Carry only the minimum amount of identifying information and the number of credit cards that you need. Limit the information on your checks.
Pay attention to billing cycles and statements. Inquire of the financial institution if you do not receive a monthly bill; it may mean the bill had been diverted by an identity thief.
Check account statements carefully to ensure all charges, checks, or withdrawals were authorized.
Guard your mail from theft. If you have the type of mailbox with a flag to signal the box contains mail, do not leave bill payment envelopes in your mailbox with the flag up. Instead, deposit them in a post office collection box or at the local post office. Promptly remove incoming mail.
Do not put your trash out until shortly before it will be picked up
Order copies of your credit card reports from each of the three major credit bureaus once a year to ensure they are accurate
If you prefer not to receive pre-approved credit offers, you can opt out of such offers by calling (888)5-OPT OUT.
If you want to remove your name from many national direct mail lists, of if you want to reduce the number of telephone solicitations from many national marketers, visit www.thedma.org/consumers/offmailingslist.html or send your name, address and telephone number to:
- DMA Mail Preference Service
- PO Box 9008
- Farmington, NY 11735-9008
Register with the National Do Not Call Registry by calling (888)38201222
or visit www.donotcall.gov
|
