Safety Tips That Protect Your Identity
Consumers who take precautionary steps to protect themselves and their identity, and are proactive in their approach to combat identity fraud, are less likely to have their personal information stolen and misused.
This factual, comprehensive five-step safety plan helps battle crimes of mistaken identity:
Prevention
- Keep sensitive information from prying eyes. At home or work, secure your personal and financial records in a locked storage device or in a password- protected file— in 2010, 14% of all identity fraud crimes were committed by someone known to the victim.
- Avoid providing your full 9-digit SSN whenever possible. When your Social Security number is requested as an identifier, ask if you can provide alternate information. In 2010, Javelin surveyed 5,004 adults and found that among the 470 fraud victims, 29% reported having their SSN stolen.
- Request electronic statements and use online bill pay whenever possible. Enroll in direct deposit, shred sensitive paper documents, and don’t put checks in an unlocked mailbox.
- Watch out for convincing imitations of banks, card companies, charities and government agencies. Never respond directly to requests for personal or account information online, over the phone, on email, or through the mobile device — including SMS text messages. Instead, use legitimate sources of contact information to verify requests for information such as your financial institution’s official website or the telephone number listed on statements and the back of bank or credit cards.
- Be aware of the dangers of online threats and install anti-virus and anti-malware software on your computer, and keep it updated along with applications, browsers, and operating systems. Install security patches and software updates as soon as they are released by verified sources.
- Don’t publish your birth date, email address, mother’s maiden name, pet’s name or other identifying or personal information on social networking sites. Use privacy settings on social networking sites to control who is able to access personal profile information.
- Use unique and hard-to-guess passwords that combine letters, numbers, and symbols, and change passwords regularly. Use strong passwords for wireless Internet connections, and don’t access unsecure websites or type in personally-identifiable information using public Wi-Fi on mobile devices, laptops, or computers. Turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when they are not being used.
Detection
- Monitor bank and credit card accounts at least weekly via online, mobile, ATM, or touch-tone banking.
- Monitor your credit and public information to spot unauthorized activity. Free credit reports from each of the three major credit bureaus (staggered quarterly for year-round monitoring) are available yearly through annualcreditreport.com or 877-322-8228. Optional fee-based services, such as more extensive monitoring of credit information, personal identity records, and Social Security numbers provide extra security and convenience for those who don’t want to personally monitor their information. When choosing an identity protection service, select a provider that encompasses both personal information and credit monitoring.
- Sign up for security alerts to be sent to your mobile phone or email account so that you are notified of changes to your account or personal information. The most common method for fraudsters to take over a victim’s account is by changing the physical address.
- If you receive a letter notifying you that your private records were involved in a data breach, take the following steps: 1) confirm the letter is legitimate, 2) take advantage of any free protection services that are offered, and 3) place a fraud alert on your credit report. A fraud alert requires lenders to make sure it is actually you applying for credit. Consumers who receive a data breach notification letter are more than four times as likely to become identity fraud victims versus those who don’t, yet many who are alerted fail to take action.
Resolution
- Report problems immediately and work with your bank, credit union or identity protection services provider to take advantage of resolution services and reimbursement policies.
- Educate yourself regarding your financial institution’s and issuer’s zero-liability protections of debit cards and ATM withdrawals as they vary among providers. Report all lost or stolen cards and/or fraudulent transactions immediately as the timing of your report of the loss or unauthorized transactions may impact the amount that you are liable for under the law.