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PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY

While there is no guarantee that your identity will never be stolen, according to Federal Trade Commission: Your National Resource About ID Theft there are steps an individual needs to take to minimize the risk:

Financial accounts: Close accounts, like credit cards and bank accounts, immediately. When you open new accounts, place passwords on them. Avoid using your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the latest four digits of you Social Security number or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.

Social Security number: Call the toll-free number of any of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies and place an initial fraud alert on your credit reports. An alert can help stop someone from opening new credit account in your name. See consumer reporting company contact information.

Driver's license/other government issued identification: Contact the agency that issued the license or other identification document. Follow its procedures to cancel the document and to get a replacement. Ask the agency to flag your file so that now one else can get a license or any other identification document from them in your name.

One you have taken these precautions, watch for signs that your information is being misused. See How can I tell if I'm a victim of identity theft?"(FTC)

ACCORDING TO THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION GUIDELINES, if you think your identity has been stolen, here is what to do:

1) Contact the fraud department of everyone of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file. The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or mailing any changes to your existing accounts. As soon as the credit bureaus confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will be automatically notified to place fraud alerts and all three credit reports will be sent to you free of charge.

The Three Major Credit Bureaus are:

EQUIFAX
Order Credit Report: 1-800-685-1111
Report Fraud: 1-800-525-6285
www.equifax.com

EXPERIAN
Order Credit Report: 1-888-397-3742
Report Fraud: 1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com

TRANSUNION
Order Credit Report: 1-800-888-4213
Report Fraud: 1-800-680-7289
www.transunion.com

To order your free annual report from one or all the national consumer reporting companies, visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call toll-free 877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. You can print the form from ftc.gov/credit. Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually; they provide free annual credit reports only through www.annualcreditreport.com, 877-322-8228, and Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

Under federal law, you're also entitled to a free report if a company takes adverse action against you, such as denying your application for credit, insurance or employment, and you request your report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. The notice will give you the name, address, and phone number of the consumer reporting company that supplied the information about you. You're also entitled to one free report a year if you're unemployed and plan to look for a job. Otherwise, a consumer reporting company may charge you up to $9.50 for any other copies of your report.

There are still more organization names, addresses, phone numbers and etc., that someone may need.

2) Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently, Use the ID Theft Affidavit when disputing new unauthorized accounts.

3) File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.

4) File your complaint with the FTC. The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations. File a report with the FTC by calling the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline: 1-877-IDTheft (438-4338); by mail, Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W., Washington DC 20580; or online at www.consumer.gov/id theft. Also request a copy of the publication, ID Theft, When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name. Filing a complaint also helps us learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having so that we can better assist them.

5) Start a file with copies of your credit reports, the police reports, and correspondence, and the courts if disputed bills. It is also useful to keep a log of your conversations with creditors, law enforcement officials, and any other relevant parties. Follow up on all phone calls in writing and send all correspondence certified, return receipts requested.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, the followed is what you should do if your personal information has been lost or stolen:

If you've lost personal information or identification, or if it has been stolen from you, taking certain steps quickly can minimize the potential for identity theft.

Financial accounts: Close accounts, like credit cards and bank accounts, immediately. When you open new accounts, place passwords on them. Avoid using you mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your Social Security number or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.

Social Security number: Call the toll-free fraud number of any of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies and place an initial fraud alert on your credit reports. An alert can help stop someone from opening new credit accounts in your name. See consumer reporting company contact information. For more information, see What is a fraud alert?

Driver's license/other government issued identification: Contact the agency that issued the license or other identification document. Follow its procedures to cancel the document and to get a replacement. Ask the agency to flag your file s that no one else can get a license or any other identification document from their name.

Once you have take these precautions, watch for signs that your information is being misused. See How can I tell if I'm a victim of identity theft?

If your information has been misused, file a report about the theft with the police and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, as well. If another crime was committed - for example, if your purse or wallet was stolen or your house or car was broken into - report it to the police immediately.

I have a computer and use the Internet. What should I be concerned about?

You may be careful about locking your doors and windows, and keeping your personal papers in a secure place. Depending on what you use your personal computer for, an identity thief may not need to set foot in your house to steal your personal information. You may store your Social Security number, financial record tax returns, birth date, and bank account numbers on your computer. These tips can help you keep your computer - and the personal information it stores - safe.

Virus protection software should be updated regularly, and patches for your operating system and other software programs should be installed to protect against intrusion and infections that can lead to the compromise of your computer files or passwords. The Windows XP operating system also can be set to automatically check for patches and download them to your computer.

Do not open files sent to you by strangers, or click on hyperlinks or download programs from people you don't know. Be careful about using file-sharing programs. Opening a file could expose your system to a computer virus or a program known as "spy ware," which could capture your passwords or any other information as you type it into your keyboard.

Use a firewall program, especially if you use a high-speed Internet connection Internet cable, DSL or T-1 that leaves your computer connected to the Internet 24 hours a day. The firewall program will allow you to stop uninvited access to your computer. Without it, hackers can take over your computer, access the personal information stored on it, or use it to commit other crimes.

Use a firewall program, especially especially if you use a high-speed Internet connection license cable, DSL or T-1 that leaves your computer connected to the Internet 24 hours a day. The firewall program will allow you to stop uninvited access to your computer. Without it, hackers can take over your computer, access the personal information stored on it, or use it to commit other crimes.

Use a secure browser - software that encrypts or scrambles information you serve over the Internet - to guard your online translations. Be sure your browser has the most up-to-date encryption capabilities by using the latest version available from the manufacturer. You also can download some browsers for free over the Internet. When submitting information, look for the "lock" icon on the browser's status back be sure your information is secure during transmission.

Try not to store financial information on your laptop unless absolutely necessary you do, use a strong password with a combination of letters (upper an lower case) number and symbols. A good way to create a strong password is to think of a memorable phrase and use the first letter of each word as your password, converting some letters into numbers that resemble letters. For example, "I love Felix; he's a good cat," would become 1LFHA6c. Don't use an automatic log-in feature that saves your user name and password, and always log off when you're finished. That way, if your laptop is stolen, it's harder for a thief to access your personal information.

Before you dispose of a computer, delete all the personal information it stored. Deleting files using the keyboard or mouse commands or reformatting your hard drive may not be enough because the files may stay on the computer's hard drive where they may be retrieved easily. Use a "wipe" utility program to overwrite the entire hard drive.

Look for web site privacy policies. They should answer questions about maintaining accuracy, security,and control of personal information collected by the same how the information will be used, and whether it will be provided to third parties you don't see a privacy policy or if you can't understand it consider doing business elsewhere.

Are companies allowed to print my entire credit card number on my receipt?

Beginning December 5, 2006, companies must not print your credit or debit card expiration date or more than the last 5 digits of your credit card number on your electronic receipt. Some businesses must make the change sooner, depending on the way they process credit card transactions. The law will allow receipts that are hand written or mechanically imprinted to show your entire number and expiration date, even after December 4, 2006.

How can I stop companies from using my personal information for marketing?

More organizations are offering consumers choices about how their personal information is used. For example, many let you "opt out" of having your information shared with others or used for marketing purposes. For more information see Privacy: What You Do Know Can Protect You and Privacy Choices for Your Personal Financial Information. You also can visit Privacy Initiatives and the National Do Not Call Registry.

When should I give out my Social Security number?

Your employer and financial institutions will need your Social Security number for wage and tax reporting purposes. Other businesses may ask you for your Social Security number to do a credit check if you are applying for a loan, renting an apartment, or signing up for utilities. Sometimes, however, they simply want your Social Security number for general record keeping. If someone asks for your Social Security number, ask:

 Why do you need my Social Security number?

 How will my Social Security number be used?

 How do you protect my Social Security number from being stolen?

 What will happen if I don't give you my Social Security number?

If you don't provide your Social Security number, some businesses may not provide you with the service or benefit you want. Getting satisfactory answers to these questions will help you decide whether you want to share your Social Security number with the business. The decision to share is yours.

Should I buy identity theft insurance?

Some companies offer insurance or similar products that claim to give you protection against the costs associated with resolving an identity theft case. Be aware that most creditors will only deal with you to resolve problems, so the insurance company in most cases will not be able to reduce that burden. As with any product or service, make sure you understand what you're getting before you buy. If you decide to buy an identity theft insurance product, check out the company with your local Better Business Bureau, consumer protection agency and state Attorney General to see if they have any complaints on file.

RECOMMENDED LINKS:

-Identity Theft Prevention and Survival
Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America. Last year there were 9.9 million victims reported.

-Identity Theft-Resource Center
A nonprofit service, nationally requested program dedicated exclusively to identity theft.

-Fight Identity Theft
Over 10 million victims in the United States. Victims spend an average of $1,500 and 175 hours to recover what they lost.

-Fraud Division
Internet Fraud

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