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Prevent Identity Theft

Identity theft is now ranked as one of the most common crimes in our society. Because of this and the potential effects it can have on you, you MUST take precautions against it. Below are some of the most common recommendations to help avoid having your ID stolen.

• Mail:
  • Pickup your mail as soon as possible each day.
  • Going to be out of town? Have the postal service hold it until you are back.
• Checks:
  • When you order checks, pick them up at the bank or financial institution. Avoid having them mailed to you if at all possible.
  • When you receive your checks, be sure they are all there. Report any missing checks to your financial institution immediately.
• Telephone:
  • Never give your personal information to a company that calls you and never call them back at a number they give you--look their number up or call Directory Assistance to get the number.
  • Limit personal information given over the phone--give as little as is necessary.
• Social Security Number:
  • Remove your SS# from all documents where it really is not necessary, i.e., checks, drivers licenses, ID cards, etc.
  • Don't carry your SS card in your wallet or purse
  • As with all your other personal information, don't give your your SS# unless it is absolutely necessary and then know exactly who you are giving it to and what use they are going to make of it.
• Internet Browser(s):
  • Never give out personal information on the internet unless you are certain that the web page you are using is secure. You can tell this by 2 things:
    • Look in the address bar where the website's URL is shown. "Http:" is not secured, but "Https:" means it is sent over the "wire" in an encrypted format which is secure.
    • Secondly, look for a small lock icon in the lower right of your screen. This lock icon means the browser "thinks" the site is secure.
    • Keep your operating system and browser up to date on the latest security patches...see the "WindowsUpdate" site to get these patches.
    • Keep a good virus-scan software running on your computer and keep the virus definition (DAT) files up to date. Never run without a virus-scanner. If you are a home user, student, etc., you can even get the AVG anti-virus software for free, so there's never an excuse.
    • Keep a good anti-spyware package on your computer. (Spyware, once loaded onto your system not only slows it down, but can report back such things as your user-id and password.) Adware by LavaSoft can be downloaded and used for home and personal use for free...use it or a similar product to keep this mal-ware off your computer.
    • If you let someone else use your computer, setup a "User Account" for them so your account information is kept with your "stuff."

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