Avoid and Detect Identity Theft
People between the ages of 18-24 are most likely to be affected by the fastest growing crime in America. Here are a list of 10 tips to help protect your personal information, assents, and credit.
1) Protect personal information such as your full name, birth date, social security, and financial and medical account numbers.
2) Look out for phone, online, or email scams that ask for personal information. Shred any material that contain important material instead of throwing them away in public trash cans.
3) Carefully read the correspondence you receive so that you can proactively identify invoices or notices for accounts you may not have authorized.
4) Review monthly statements and notify when possible fraudulent chargers or discrepancies.
5) Use secure WI-FI and not public WI-FI when accessing sensitive information online. This helps protect the privacy and integrity of data exchanged online.
6) Create strong passwords, use two-step account verification when available, and avoid using the same passwords on multiple sites.
7) Pay attention to identity protection services may use deceptive marketing practices to solicit customers. You can protect your accounts and check statements on your own.
8) If you suspect that your Social Security number may have been stolen, putting a security freeze on your credit reports denies new creditors access to your file if anyone attempts to open new accounts in your name.
9) Set up text and email alerts for your accounts to automatically inform you when unusual or unauthorized activity may be occurring.
10) Three major credit bureaus-Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion-are required to provide consumers with a free copy of their credit report once per year.
–For more information, including identity theft and fraud protection tips go to Annual Credit Report for more tips.