Identity Safety Tips

No one is immune. It's Identity Theft, and it could happen to you!

Ten Ways to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

1. Don't carry your Social Security number/card; leave it in a secure place.
2. Don't use your telephone number on personal checks.
3. Be wary of promotional scams. Identity thieves may use phony offers to get you to give them your personal information.
4. Purchase a document shredder and destroy all documents that contain personal or financial information.
5. Remove your name from call and mailing lists.
6. Stop your mail service while on vacation.
7. Pay attention to your billing cycles.
8. 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 account and changed your billing address to cover his tracks.
9. Only use secure and encrypted web sites when purchasing goods and services over the Internet.
10. Place passwords on your credit card, bank and phone accounts.

Note: There recently has been a tremendouse increase in child identity theft. Targeting children gives ID thieves access to clean credit and absence of criminal history. This makes them ideal victims.

*Federal Trade Commission, Synovate Identity Theft Survey Report, Jan. 2006.