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ID theft booklets are provided by
the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office and are
available at the Mountain Home Police Department.
You may view the Attorney General’s website at
www.ag.state.ar.us.
for additional information.
Definition:
The theft and use of personal information to commit
fraud or theft.
Identity Theft is a serious crime.
It may cause you to:
·
Lose
job opportunities.
·
Be
refused loans for education, housing, and cars.
·
Be
arrested for crimes.
·
Experience humiliation, anger, and frustration.
·
Spend
months or years and thousands of dollars to restore
your good name and credit.
How identity thieves get your personal information:
·
They steal wallets and purses
containing your identification, credit, and
bankcards.
-
They steal your mail, including your bank and
credit card statements, pre-approved credit
offers, new checks, and tax information.
-
They complete a “change of address form” to
divert your mail to another location.
-
They rummage through your trash, or the trash of
businesses, for personal data in a practice
known as “dumpster diving.”
-
They fraudulently obtain your credit report by
posing as a landlord, employer or someone else
who may have a legitimate need for, and legal
right to the information.
-
They find personal information in your home.
-
They use personal information you share on the
internet
-
They scam you, often through email, by posing as
legitimate companies or government agencies you
do business with.
-
They get your information from the work place in
a practice known as “business record theft” by:
stealing files out of offices where you’re a
customer, employee, patient or student; bribing
an employee who has access to your files; or
“hacking” into electronic files.
How
identity thieves use your personal information:
-
They call your credit card issuer and,
pretending to be you, ask to change the mailing
address on your credit card account. The
imposter then runs up charges on your account.
Because your bills are being sent to the new
address, it may take some time before you
realize there’s a problem.
-
They open a new credit card account, using your
name, date of birth and SSN. When they use the
credit card and don’t pay the bills, the
delinquent account is reported on your credit
report.
-
They establish phone or wireless service in your
name.
-
They open a bank account in your name and write
bad checks on that account.
-
They file for bankruptcy under your name to
avoid paying debts they’ve incurred under your
name, or to avoid eviction.
-
They counterfeit checks or debit cards, and
drain your bank account.
-
They buy cars by taking out auto loans in your
name.
-
They give your name to the police during an
arrest. If they’re released from police custody,
but don’t show up for their court date, an
arrest warrant is issued in your name.
Minimize
your risk:
-
Each year, order a copy of your credit report
from each of the three major credit bureaus.
-
Place passwords on your credit card, bank, and
phone accounts.
-
Secure personal information in your home,
especially if you have roommates, employ outside
help or are having service work done in your
home.
-
Don’t give out personal information on the
phone, through the mail or over the Internet
unless you’ve initiated the contact or are sure
you know who you’re dealing with.
-
Guard your mail and trash from theft. Deposit
outgoing mail in post office collection boxes or
at your local post office, rather than in an
unsecured mailbox. Promptly remove mail from
your mailbox. If you’re planning to be away from
home and can’t pick up your mail, contact the
local post office and request a vacation hold.
-
Before revealing any personally identifying
information (for example, on an application),
find out how it will be used and secured, and
whether it will be shared with others.
-
Don’t carry your SSN card; leave it in a secure
place.
-
Give your SSN only when absolutely necessary.
Ask to use other types of identifiers when
possible
-
Carry only the identification information and
the number of credit and debit cards that you’ll
actually need.
-
Pay attention to your billing cycles.
-
Be wary of promotional scams. Identity thieves
may use phony offers to get you to give them
your personal information.
-
Keep your purse or wallet in a safe place at
work.
-
The doors and windows are locked, but………
-
Computer files can be a goldmine.
-
Update your virus protection software regularly,
or when a new virus alert is announced.
-
Do not download files sent to you by strangers
or click on hyperlinks from people you don’t
know. Opening a file could expose your system to
a computer virus or a program that could hijack
your modem.
-
Use a firewall program, especially if you use a
high-speed Internet connection like cable, DSL
or T-1, which leaves your computer connected to
the Internet 24 hours a day.
-
Use a secure browser-software that encrypts or
scrambles information you send over the
Internet-to guard the security of your online
transactions.
-
Try not to store financial information on your
laptop unless absolutely necessary. If you do,
use a strong password. Do not use an automatic
log-in feature.
-
Before you dispose of a computer, delete
personal information. Use a “wipe” utility
program to overwrite the entire hard drive.
-
Look for website privacy policies.
Credit Bureaus
Equifax –
www.equifax.com
To order your report, call: 800-685-1111
To report fraud, call: 800-525-6285
TDD 800-255-0056 and write:
P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Experian -
www.experian.com
To order your report, call: 888-397-3742
To report fraud, call: 888-397-3742
TDD 800-972-0322 and write:
P.O. Box 9532, Allen TX 75013
TransUnion –
www.transunion.com
To order your report, call: 800-888-4213
To report fraud, call: 800-680-7289
TDD 877-553-7803; fax 714-447-6034; email:
fvad@transunion.com
or write:
Fraud Victim Assistance Department, P.O. Box 6790,
Fullerton, CA 92634-6790
If You’re a Victim:
-
Contact the fraud departments of each of the
three major credit bureaus.
-
Close the accounts that you know or believe have
been tampered with or opened fraudulently
(credit accounts, ATM cards, checks)
-
File a police report with your local law
enforcement agency
-
File a complaint with the Federal Trade
Commission at:
1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338) TDD: 202-326-2502, by mail:
Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade
Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580; or
Online:
www.consumer.gov/idtheft |
