Consumer Affairs Offers Tips to Protect Against Identity Theft

NASHVILLE- As many as 9 million Americans’ identities are stolen each year. Identity theft is the unauthorized acquisition and use of a person’s identifying information – such as a name, Social Security number or credit card number – to commit fraud or other crimes. Through identity theft, criminals might rent an apartment, obtain a line of credit or establish a telephone account. Victims often discover the crimes when reviewing credit reports or statements.

Skilled identity thieves use many methods, including:

• Dumpster diving: They rummage through trash, looking for bills or other documents.
• Skimming: They steal credit/debit card numbers by using a special storage device when processing credit cards.
• Phishing: They pretend to be financial institutions or companies and send spam or pop-up messages to get Internet users to reveal personal information.
• Changing victims’ addresses: They divert billing statements to another location by completing a change-of-address form.
• Old-fashioned stealing: They steal wallets, purses and mail – including bank and credit card statements and pre-approved credit offers, replacement checks and tax information.

• Do not give information such as account numbers over the phone, through the mail or over the internet.
• Store personal information in a safe place, and shred old credit card receipts, ATM receipts, old account statements and unused credit card offers.
• Pay attention to billing cycles. Inquire with your bank if you do not receive a monthly bill.
• Guard your mail from theft. Do not leave bill payment envelopes in your mailbox with the flag up. Instead, deposit them in a post office collection box or at a local post office.
• Order and review copies of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus every year, to make sure it is accurate.