Protecting Your Identity

1. Protecting Your Identity Felicia Cervantes

2. Identity Theft • Using someone's personal identifying data for unlawful purpose. (This is a SERIOUS crime.) • More than 8 million American Adults fell victim to identity theft in 2012, all adding up roughly to $37 billion. • Thieves may rummage through your trash, steal your wallet, “skim” data off your credit card or they may go “phising” on the Internet. (Using misleading emails and fraudulent websites to get you to reveal personal information.)

3. How can I protect myself against identity theft? • Today, there is no sure way to protect yourself completely from Identity Theft. • You use Personal Identifying all the time, whether its accessing your bank account or applying for a loan. • You may be able to help avoid Identity Theft by using these tips:

4. 10 Tips for identity theft protection • PROTECT YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER!! Don't carry your card around, and if your health care provider uses your Social, ask for another number • Fight "phising"-don't take the bait! Scam artists pretend to be banks, state or government agencies, either by phone, emails, and your regular mail. NEVER give out your personal information unless YOU made the contact, don't respond to requests that ask you to verify your account number or password. Legit companies will not request this kind of information in this way. • Keep your identity from getting trashed. SHRED or TEAR up papers with personal information on them BEFORE you throw them away. Shred credit card offers and "convenience checks" you don't use

5. 10 tips cont. • Control Your Personal Finance Information. California LAW requires your bank and other financial service companies to get your permission before sharing any personal financial information with outside companies. You have the ability to limit the amount of sharing going on between your banks affiliates • . Shield your computer from viruses and spies. Use STRONG passwords with a combination of letters, numbers and symbols that is easy to remember but difficult for others to guess. Use a firewall, virus and spyware for protection. Never install software unless you know what it is. Set your Internet browser to at least a medium in security. DO NOT click on pop up windows or spam email.  

6. 10 tips cont. • Click with Caution. When shopping online make sure its a credited website before imputing your credit card number or other personal information. Read privacy policy carefully. If there is no privacy policy BEWARE!!! Only enter personal information on secure websites that have "http" in the address bar and a lock symbol at the bottom of the browser window. These ensure that your information will be encrypted or scrambled protecting it from hacker. • Check your bills and bank statements!! Open your credit card and bank statements right away. Check carefully for anything unusual. Call if bills don’t arrive on time. This could mean that someone has changed information to hide fraudulent charges. • Stop pre-approved credit offers. Call 1-888-5OPTOUT (367-8688)or online at optoutprescreen.com.

7. 10 tips cont. • Ask Questions. Ask whenever you are asked for personal information that seems inappropriate for the transaction. Ask how the information will be used and if it will be shared. Ask how it will be protected, if you are not satisfied with the answers consider going somewhere else. • Check your credit card reports – for FREE. Monitor your credit history. You can get one free credit report every year from Equifax, Esperian and TransUnion. Check it every four months. To order your free annual credit reports call toll free 1-877-322-8228 or email at annualcreditrepot.com

8. How do I know if someone is using my identity to run up bills? • Some identity thieves go undetected for a long time. The victim only discovers the situation after an unsolicited credit card comes, or a debt collector calls about an unpaid and unfamiliar debt. • Be sure to check your credit report at least once a year. • If you haven’t established credit history as a teenager don’t be alarmed if you initially receive “report not found” • If you find inaccurate information contact: • 1-888-397-3742/Experian.com (credit reports, security freezes) • 1-800-685-1111equifax.com (credit reports, security freezes) • 1-800-525-6285(fraud assistance service center) • 1-800-888-4213/Transunion.com (credit reports) • 1-800-680-7289 (fraud reports, alerts) • 1-888-909-8872 (security freezes) • If you are an identity thief victim you are entitled to receive one free copy of your credit report from each credit bureau each month for up to 12 consecutive months. If the thief is caught you could get some restitution to repair your damaged credit by law.

9. What else should I do if I think someone using my identity to get credit? • For guidance visit California office of privacy protection privacy.ca.gov, Identity theft Resource center idtheftcenter.org, the Privacy rights Clearinghouse privacyrights.org, and the Federal Trade Commission ftc.gov. • You should also file a police report, register a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, fill out the FTC’s I Theft Affidavit and contact all affected creditors.