Top 10 Ways to Prevent Identity Theft

1. Shred old or unwanted documents or records containing personal information.
2. Safeguard your social security number.
3. Request that your name be removed from telemarketer's list.
4. Use passwords (not social security numbers) on accounts; safeguard all passwords.
5. Secure incoming and outgoing mail.
6. Close accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
7. Know what your personal information will be used for before providing to anyone.
8. Know to whom you give any personal information.
9. Monitor credit card statements closely.
10. Review your credit reports at least once a year.

Top 10 Ways Your Identity Can be Stolen

1. "Dumpster diving" (going through your trash)
2. "Shoulder surfing" (looking over your shoulder for credit card number, personal information, ATM pin numbers)
3. Mail theft
4. "Phishing" (e-mail and internet scams)
5. Stolen wallets, purses; never leave these unattended in shopping carts
6. Theft of information by individuals posing as employers, landlords, or other legitimate persons who need this data
7. Theft by workers left unattended in your home
8. Theft of personal information from your workplace
9. "Skimming" (cloning a credit/debit card)
10. Re-routing mail with change-of-address form

Top 10 Items to Shred

1. Old or unwanted credit card statements
2. Unwanted pre-approved credit card offers and checks
3. Old, unwanted bank statements, cancelled checks
4. Credit card and ATM receipts
5. Pay stubs
6. Old, unwanted medical statements
7. Old, unwanted insurance statements
8. Old, unwanted tax returns
9. Expired charge cards
10. Anything with your name on it

When Your Identity is Stolen, You Have Serious Problems...

Suddenly you're on the defensive in that job interview, rental application, or loan approval. Unfortunately, you might not know that you're a victim of identity theft until it's too late. An identity thief, armed with just a few pieces of information−credit card numbers, social security number, driver's license number, date of birth−might open an account using your name, change the mailing address, and run up charges on the account. All of this without your knowledge!

If you're a victim, to avoid becoming responsible for debts incurred by the identity thief, you must prove to each of the companies where accounts were opened or used in your name, that you didn't create the debts.

What can you do about it?

To begin, you'll need to determine what accounts have been opened in your name, and to do this you'll need to review all three of your credit reports by contacting all three credit reporting agencies and putting a fraud alert on your credit report. You also have the right to obtain one credit report per year for free through the Federal Trade Commission.

Also, a form is available that you can send to all your creditors as well as the three credit bureaus above. You can get it and print it here.

You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to read and print
the affidavit, which you can get for free by clicking logo below...

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