It only takes a few seconds to become a victim of financial
fraud,
but it often takes months to recover.
Armed with discarded credit card receipts, checks, or
deposit
slips,
today's thieves are making unauthorized
transactions
from victims'
accounts, and even opening
new--fraudulent--credit card and
checking accounts.
There are steps you can take to prevent your identity from
theft.
- Examine all your financial statements. Promptly
reconcile
your monthly share draft account statement. Save
check stubs
and credit, debit, and ATM (automated teller
machine) receipts.
Report discrepancies between your records
and monthly
statements to the appropriate company. Check
credit bureau
reports at least once a year.
- Limit the paper trail. Store receipts and share draft
carbons in
a safe place. Or rip them up, especially areas
where account
numbers are visible. Destroy blank checks from
closed-out
accounts and expired or unused credit cards. And
tear up any
credit card receipt carbons.
- Guard your purse or wallet. Thieves often target
unoccupied vehicles, unlocked office drawers, and health
club locker rooms.
- Protect your personal identification number (PIN). Never
keep your ATM PIN in the same place as your card.
- Beware of phone scams. Never give your PIN or any other
personal financial information to an unknown caller.
- Check your mail. If you have not received mail for a few
days, you may be the victim
of mail diversion fraud. This
scam involves forging an individual's signature
on a
change-of-address form to divert your mail and obtain
financial information. If
you suspect your address has been
changed without your permission, contact the post office.
- Track financial statements. Find out when financial
statements and credit cards are due to arrive. If they're
late, contact your credit union or appropriate issuer.
- Protect yourself online. New technology allows online
vendors to assure customers reasonable security from online
theft. Only order from reputable companies and do not order
if you doubt the security of the vendor.
- Visit the Federal Trade Commission identity theft web
site (www.consumer.gov/idtheft)
to view a copy of its publication, “Id Theft: When Bad
Things Happen To Your Good Name.”
Many identity theft situations involve the U.S. Mail.
Read these additional
tips from Postal Inspectors
on how to avoid Identity theft.
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Have you been a victim of
“phishing”?
Phishing is a high-tech scam where emails are sent to
consumers falsely claiming to be
a legitimate company, in an attempt to obtain non-public
personal information, such as name, account and credit card
numbers, passwords, social security numbers, and
other information.
Phishing Scam Prevention Tips
Tip 1: If you receive an email that warns you, with
little or no notice, that your account will be closed unless
you confirm your billing information, do not reply or click on
the link within the email. Contact the company directly by
phone.
Tip 2: Do not email personal and financial information.
Tip 3: Review credit card and account statements as
soon as you receive them to
determine whether there are any unauthorized charges. If a
statement is late by more than a few days, call the credit
card company or the Credit Union to confirm your billing
address and account balance.
Tip 4: Report suspicious activity to the FTC. Send the
actual spam to uce@ftc.gov.
If you think you have been a victim of a fraudulent scheme,
you should file a complaint at www.ftc.gov. Visit the FTC’s
Identity Theft website (www.ftc.gov/idtheft) to learn how to
minimize the risk of damage from identity theft.
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