PROTECT YOURSELF!
Protect yourself from identity theft
What is Identity theft?
Identity theft is when someone wrongly obtains your personal identification, credit, and/or account information, giving them a wide range of options on how to spend YOUR hard-earned money. They can kill your credit score, throw you into massive debt, and ruin your life. Luckily, there are many ways to prevent and fight Identity theft.
How do I prevent Identity theft?
While there is no certain foolproof plan to prevent identity theft, there are some very effective strategies to deter it. First, NEVER keep your social security card, ATM reciepts, credit card information, or any other personal information like the above in your wallet/somewhere where it is easily accessible. If possible, keep this information locked securely away, a safe helps with this a lot. Also, when shopping online, Always look on your browser bar for a little padlock, this states that the site is secure to present account information without risk to buy products.
What do I do if my identity is stolen?
First, remain calm and act immediately , contact the 3 major credit bureaus and request a free fraud alert be added to the credit report, what this does is it alerts creditors to verify an individuals identity before they issue your credit. Then close all of the accounts that have been tampered with. After you've done this, file a police report with the local police, and file a complaint with the FTC here: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#crnt&panel1-1