Identity Theft Education

The Identity Theft Education Center gives you access to a credit education portal with the most up-to-date information and advice on how to avoid identity theft.

Identity Theft can affect anyone in your household.

What is Identity Theft?

Identity theft is the act of someone using your personal information, such as your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or a type of crime.

The following are the most common types of identity theft:

  1. Dumpster Diving – Rummaging through the trash looking for bills or other papers that contain your personal information.
  2. Skimming – Stealing your credit/debit card numbers by using a special storage device when processing your card.
  3. Phishing – Pretending to be a financial institution or company and sending spam or pop-up messages to get you to reveal your personal information.
  4. Changing Your Address – Diverting your billing statements to another location by completing a change of address form.
  5. Old-Fashioned Stealing – Stealing wallets and purses; mail, including bank and credit card statements; pre-approved credit offers; and new checks or tax information.
  6. Pretexting – Using false pretenses to obtain your personal information from financial institutions, telephone companies, and other sources.

ID Theft and the Internet

The Internet has become one of the primary tools for identity theft. If you use the Internet for entertainment, research, or to manage your finances, you need to be extremely cautious about protecting your personal data.

Here are some tips:

  • Safeguard your finances. Look for the SSL encryption sign when possible on websites where you are providing banking or credit card information. Provide your credit card or bank account number only when you are completing an online transaction.

  • Protect your social security number. Your social security number is the key to your personal information for most identity thieves. Do not reveal the entire number unless it is absolutely necessary. Many universities use it as an ID number and it is part of the reason why identity theft is prevalent among college students.

  • Beware of phishing emails. If you ever receive an email from a site that has your personal information, such as eBay®, PayPal®, even your banking institution, or one of your credit cards, these could potentially be phishing emails sent by hackers trying to capture your information. If it directs you to login using a link, DO NOT click on it. Always go to that particular website and login directly from the homepage. If there is an alert on your account, you will more than likely see it there.

  • Keep your mail safe. Your mail contains account numbers and other personal information. Pick up your mail daily from your mailbox and ask the post office to hold it if, or a neighbor or relative to collect it, if you're going away. Send bill payments form the post office or a public mailbox and avoid leaving your mail in your mailbox to be picked up by the postal service.
  • Memorize your passwords and PIN numbers. Don’t leave them in your wallet or on your desk where someone else could find them. Try to use alphanumeric characters whenever possible.
  • If it’s personal – lock it. Keep your personal information in a safe or locked file cabinet at home, work, or school. If it's in your car make sure to keep it in the trunk.
  • Stay safe online. Don’t send sensitive information such as credit card numbers by email. Look for clues about security on Web sites. At the point where you are asked to provide your financial or other sensitive information, the letters at the beginning of the address bar at the top of the screen should change from "http" to "https" or "shttp". Your browser may also show that the information is being encrypted, or scrambled, so no one who might intercept it can read it. But while your information may be safe in transition, there's no guarantee that the company will store it securely. See what the web site you're on says about how your information is safeguarded in storage.
  • If you are on active duty in the military, put an active duty alert on your credit files. This alert will stay in your files for at least 12 months. If someone applies for cedit in your name, the creditors will take extra precautions to make sure that the applicant is not someone pretending to be you. Just contact one of the three major credit bureaus to place the active duty alert; it will be shared automatically with the other two:

    Equifax: 800.525.6285, TDD 800.255.0056
    Experian: 888.397.3742, TDD 800.972.0322
    TransUnion: 800.680.7289, TDD 877.553.7803

  • Check your credit reports regularly. It's good to check your credit reports at least once a year. You can receive free copies of your credit reports every 12 months from annualcreditreport.com.

Helpful Links

Identity Theft - Government

Identity Theft - Non Profit

Credit

Credit Repositories Online Dispute

Financial Literacy

Consumer Resources

Your Private Information Isn't Quite That Private

It is astounding how much private, personal information on just about anyone is readily available for public access. Government agencies such as your State Motor Vehicle Department and the Social Security Administration have a wealth of information on you that can be tapped rather easily by outside parties. With little more than a social security number and a date of birth, anyone can find out all they need to capture your identity.

With identity theft on the rise, more stringent methods are being implemented to protect private consumer information from being accessed by outside parties. You should be in control of who sees and is allowed access to your private information. Knowledge is power, and the more knowledge you have on your credit usage and personal information, the harder it becomes for your identity to be stolen.

Links to the Medical Information Bureau, Social Security Administration, the State Departments of Motor Vehicles, and the three Credit Repositories, where you can view the personal information these agencies have about you, have been provided below. Explore these sites and take the proper measures to keep your private information, private.