What is identity theft?
Identity theft occurs when a thief obtains - and illegally uses - your identifying information, such as your Social Security number (SSN) or your credit card or checking account numbers, to open new credit accounts and apply for loans in your name.
What is spoofing, spamming, and phishing?
Spoofing: Is creating a replica of an existing Web page to fool a user into submitting personal, financial, or password data. Make sure the Websites you visit show a padlock near the bottom of your browser window - the padlock signifies the use of SSL (secure sockets layer) technology. By convention, URLs that require a safe connection start with https: or s-http:.
Spamming: Is sending unsolicited e-mail indiscriminately to multiple mailing lists, individuals, or newsgroups. These e-mails include ads, viruses, and hoaxes. Report spam by sending an e-mail to the FTC at ucs@ftc.gov.
Phishing: Is creating and using e-mails and Websites - designed to look like e-mails and Websites of well-known legitimate businesses, financial institutions, and government agencies - to deceive users into disclosing account information or other personal data such as usernames and passwords.
How do I prevent identity theft?
• Before revealing personal financial information, find out whom you're dealing with, how the information will be used, and if it will be shared with others.
• Only give your SSN when it's absolutely necessary. Ask if you can use another identifier, such as a driver's license, instead. And don't carry your Social Security card in your wallet unless you need it that day.
• Keep items with personal information in a safe place and either shred them or tear them up when you don't need them anymore. Dispose of checking/share draft copies and statements, receipts with a credit card imprint, insurance forms, expired credit cards, savings and investment account statements, and credit card offers the same way.
• Order a copy of your credit report from each credit-reporting agency every year. Click here to order yours now. Verify that your credit report is accurate and that it includes only activities you've authorized.
• Look over your credit card and credit union statements each month for unauthorized charges or suspicious activity.
• Photocopy financial cards and insurance cards you carry in your wallet (front and back) and keep copies in a safe place; if your wallet is lost or stolen, you can promptly and accurately report the loss.
• Consider the information you're supplying on entries to win a car, shopping spree, and so on. To win, information such as your age or income range usually is not necessary.
• Contact the U.S. Postal Service if you don't receive mail for a few days. You want to confirm your mail - with, say all those credit card offers - hasn't been diverted by a thief filling out a change of address form in your name.
How do I recover from identity theft?
• Contact all creditors, utilities, and financial institutions about fraudulent accounts and follow up each conversation with a letter. Close suspicious accounts and open new ones using new passwords and PINs. Don't use recognizable identifiers such as the last four digits of your SSN, your birth date, house number, and so on for passwords and PINs.
• File a report with your local police or the police where the theft took place. Get a cop of the report in case a creditor needs proof of the crime.
• File a complaint with the FTC at the Identity Theft Hotline, toll-free at 877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).
• Ask your creditors if they'll accept the FTC's ID Theft Affidavit. You can get one by calling the FTC at 877-IDTHEFT or at www.consumer.gov/idtheft. The affidavit allows consumers to report identity theft information to several companies simultaneously.
• If it appears that someone is using your SSN, contact the Social Security Administration to verify the accuracy of your reported earnings and your name. Call 800-772-1213 to check your Social Security statement.
Tips on fling a police report
• Provide documentation. Furnish as much documentation as you can to prove your case. Debt collection letters, credit reports, your notarized ID Theft Affidavit, and other evidence of fraudulent activity can help the police file a complete report.
• Be persistent. Local authorities may tell you that they can't take a report. Stress the importance of a police report; manu creditors require one to resolve your dispute. Also remind them that under their voluntary"Police Report Initiative. "credit bureaus will automatically black the fraudulent accounts and bad debts from appearing on your credit report, but only if you can give them a copy of the police report. If you can't get the local police to take a report, try your county police. If that doesn't work, try our state police. If you're told that identity theft is not a crime under your state law, ask to file a Miscellaneous Incident Report instead. View the FTC Brochure - a list of state laws is located on page 25.
• Be a motivating force. Ask your police department to search the FTC's Consumer Sentinel database for other complaints in your community. You may be be the first or only victim of this identity thief. If there is a pattern of cases, local authorities may give your case more consideration.
That's why it's also important to file a complaint with the FTC. Law enforcement agencies use complaints filed with the FTC to aggregate cases, spot patterns, and track growth in identity theft. This information can then be used to improve investigations and victim assistance.
Tips on organizing your case
• Follow up in writing with all contacts you're made on the phone or in person. Use certified mail, return receipt request.
• Keep copies of all correspondence or forms you send.
• Write down the name of anyone you talk to, what he or she told you, and the date the conversation occurred.
• Keep the originals of supporting documentation, like police reports, and letters to and from creditors; send copies only.
• Set up a filing system for easy access to your paperwork.
• Keep old files even if you believe your case is closed. One of the most difficult and annoying aspects of identity theft is that errors can reappear on you credit reports or your information can be re-circulated. Should this happen, you'll be glad you kept your files.
Social Security Number Advice
You are required to provide your SSN for:
Income tax records, Medical records, Credit bureau reports, College records, Loan applications, Vehicle registrations.
You can and may want to refuse to provide your SSN in these situations:
As driver's license number (in most states), On personal checks, Over the phone, On club memberships, On address labels, Ad identification for store purchases/refunds, As general identification.
Helpful Resources:
• FTC brochure: ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen To You Good Name
• Identity Theft Resource Center Top of page
