How thieves obtain your personal information
- “Dumpster diving”
- Stealing mail, such as bank statements or credit card offers
- Filing a change of address form to divert your mail
- Stealing your wallet or purse
- Posing as an entity (such as an employer) to gain a copy of your credit
report
- Gathering personal information while online
- Posing as a legitimate entity (such as a company) to obtain personal information
from you via e-mail
- Stealing business records to gain personal information about employees
and customers
- Physically stealing personal information from your home
Protect yourself while online
- Check the security and privacy policy of the Web sites where you do business
- Purchase only from companies you know and feel you can trust
- Provide minimal information on Web site input forms
- Check your browser for secure transmission of private information
- Practice virus-defense strategies
- Proactively monitor all statements for unauthorized transactions
- Protect your Internet connectivity (dial-up, broadband)
- Change passwords frequently, and use passwords that are not easy to guess
- Use e-mail encryption for all e-mail that contact sensitive information
- Manage cookies on your computer and delete all but the ones you really
need
- Utilize mail cleansing tools to rid your inbox of spam
- Consider an anonymous re-mailer if you wish to mask your identity.
Credit Bureaus
Order a copy of your credit report from all three major credit bureaus at
least quarterly and check for accuracy. The three major credit bureaus are:
What to do if you do become a victim
Contact the fraud departments of all of the three major credit card bureaus.
Ask that a "red alert" flag be placed on your credit file as well
as a victim comment that request creditors to phone you before opening new
accounts or changing account information.
