The United States Congress enacted the Identity Theft And Assumption Deterrence Act in October of 1998.
This Act makes it a crime when someone:
“knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal [...]
The online job scam problem is growing and evolving. Some schemes involve identity theft, others can involve eBay fraud and money laundering. Be aware of the following:
Be cautious if a prospective employer asks for your banking or credit card information while applying for a job online. Direct deposit is a convenience, but shouldn’t be the [...]
Memorize your PIN (Personal Identification Number) as soon as possible. Do not write the number down on the card or keep in your wallet/purse.
Use a unique PIN. Do not use your birthdate, phone number, social security number, license number, house number or any number that is easy to guess.
Keep your ATM receipts, don’t leave these [...]
If your personal checks have been lost, stolen or misused, stop payment and notify your bank(s) immediately. Ask your bank to notify the check verification service that it does business with.
You may also wish to contact the major check verification companies and request that they notify all retailers who use their databases not to accept [...]
Guarding your Social Security Number is vital in terms of minimizing your risk of identity theft. With your Social Security Number, an identity thief can obtain various kinds of personal information about you. Many times they will use your Social Security Number to apply for credit in your name - and they have no intentions [...]
If you no longer wish to receive pre-approved credit card applications and other unsolicited commercial mail or receive telemarketing calls, you can opt-out by contacting the following:
Credit Bureaus
Call 1-888-567-8688 (1-888-5-OPTOUT)
to have yourself removed from the list to receive pre-approved credit offers. You will need to provide your home telephone number, your name and your Social [...]
Identity theft is quickly becoming one of the most organized and costly crimes of our time.
Reduce the chance of your personal ID theft by using a paper shredder to destroy all documents and files before discarding them.
It has been determined that criminals are indeed taking their victims trash to sort through and find any personal [...]
Before submitting personal information on a website, look for the yellow padlock secure symbol on the bottom of your browser window to ensure you are in secure mode.
Example shown here:
Be aware of scam emails, even if the sender email address looks legit. Online financial institutions will never email you asking for your credit card information, [...]
When you realize you’ve lost your wallet or that your purse has been stolen containing all your credit cards and personal identification, what is your reaction?
You panic.
Time is of the essence in terms of reporting your lost or stolen credit cards, checkbooks, etc. And trying to put together all of your account numbers, account types [...]
Identity theft occurs when someone uses your name, Social Security Number, credit card numbers, or other personal information without your knowledge to commit fraud and/or other crimes.
If you are a victim of Identity Theft, this can affect your job and education opportunities, credit history and credit/loan opportunities. There have also been cases of people being [...]
By monitoring your credit report, you can see and verify when an identity thief is opening new credit accounts in your name as this will likely show up on your credit report.
While monitoring your report you may find some errors. This does not automatically indicate that someone has stolen your identity, it could simply mean [...]