With millions of victims every year, identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the nation.
Thieves can steal all types of personal information, like your social security number or other identifiers, to commit fraud. The damage can be drawn out for years and can include strange bills, credit collectors calling you, and heavy impacts on your credit score.
When you are the victim of identity theft, you must take action as soon as possible to prevent further damage. You should contact your bank, local law enforcement and the Federal Trade Commission for further instructions. At the Hubbard Police Department, we have step by step guides to help you navigate through trying to get your identity back.
You can take steps to avoid identity theft.
- Don’t carry your social security card with you unless you need it. Only give your number out when absolutely necessary.
- Don’t give out any identifying information over the phone, online, or through the mail if you didn’t initiate the contact. No one will ever contact you over the phone to give you free money. Ever.
- Watch out for people who are standing around you while you put in PINs or Passwords.
- Make sure to collect your mail in a timely manner.
- Shred everything that has any personal information on it.
- Make sure you have some manner of anti-virus on your computer. There are many different types of phishing software and malware that is designed to steal personal information from your computer.
- Pay attention to your checking/savings account. Make it a point to review your account about once a week. Go over all your transactions to watch out for anything that looks suspicious or isn’t authorized.
- If you do a lot of online shopping, get a Paypal account. Paypal is secure and encrypted, and you don’t have to disclose your credit card information on random websites.