{"id":366,"date":"2014-10-01T16:46:12","date_gmt":"2014-10-01T20:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/?p=366"},"modified":"2014-10-01T16:46:43","modified_gmt":"2014-10-01T20:46:43","slug":"avoiding-identity-theft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/avoiding-identity-theft\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoiding Identity Theft"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

According to the Federal Trade Commission, over half a million Americans will\u00a0have their identities stolen\u00a0each year. \u00a0The most common types of identity theft are:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Using or opening a credit card account fraudulently<\/p>\n

\u2022 Opening cell phone or utility accounts fraudulently<\/p>\n

\u2022 Passing bad checks or opening a new bank account<\/p>\n

\u2022 Getting loans in another person\u2019s name<\/p>\n

Victims spend on average 175 hours and $800.00 to clear their names.<\/p>\n

Tips on How to Avoid Identity Theft<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Completely review your credit card and bank account statements and make\u00a0sure you are receiving them regularly. If anyone is trying to steal your\u00a0identity, they need to get possession of your documents. Thieves do this by\u00a0calling your bank and changing the address on your account(s). If bank or\u00a0credit card documents are late, immediately call your creditors to confirm\u00a0your information has been sent to your home address and ask for copies.\u00a0Purchase an inexpensive paper shredder and shred these copies when you\u00a0are finished with them.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Do not give out personal information to anyone you do not know.\u00a0Professional thieves can pose as bankers or government agents in order to\u00a0steal your information.\u2022 Do not leave any important documents in your mailbox. Thieves will take\u00a0outgoing payments and correspondence from your mailbox and collect the\u00a0information for their use. Deposit your letters directly into an official mailbox.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Shred any credit card offers or pre-approved loan offers. Thieves will go\u00a0through your trash to find these documents and activate these accounts.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Your social security number is the key to your identity. Do not carry it around\u00a0in your handbag or wallet. Keep a minimal number of ID cards and credit\u00a0cards in your possession. Keep them at home in a safe place and bring them\u00a0with you when you need them. \u00a0The following toll-free number, 1-888-567-8688 or 1-888-5OPTOUT, is a phone\u00a0service run by the nation\u2019s credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.\u00a0Consumers may call this number and ask to be removed from mailing lists for\u00a0unsolicited credit cards or so-called pre-approved loan offers.<\/p>\n

Marketing Databases<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you would like to remove your name from mail and telephone marketing\u00a0databases, write a letter to both Direct Marketing Association locations below\u00a0and request your name be removed from these lists.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Direct Marketing Association<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mail Preference Service<\/p>\n

P.O. Box 9008<\/p>\n

Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008<\/p>\n

Telephone Preference Service<\/strong><\/p>\n

P.O. Box 9014<\/p>\n

Farmingdale, NY 11735-9014<\/p>\n

Safeguard Your Computer<\/strong><\/p>\n

These days thieves do not even have to come in contact with you to steal your\u00a0identity. They can do it by hacking into your computer. If you are connected to\u00a0the Internet, you need the protection of a firewall and a secure browser. Be\u00a0careful not to open spam e-mails that may contain \u201cworms\u201d that let cyber thieves\u00a0monitor your Internet transactions. When you upgrade your computer, do not\u00a0dispose of the old one without using a \u201cwipe\u201d utility program to erase the entire\u00a0hard drive. Just deleting files does not make them unrecoverable to a clever\u00a0techno thief.<\/p>\n

What to Do if You are a Victim<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you think your identity is being used, you must immediately contact all of the\u00a0three major credit bureaus and the Federal Trade Commission. These bureaus\u00a0have fraud centers that will request you follow certain procedures and forward\u00a0copies of certain documents to them. Follow the procedures they have in place\u00a0and make sure you ask them to place a \u201cfraud alert\u201d on your file. Here is the\u00a0contact information for each major credit bureau:<\/p>\n

Equifax<\/strong>: To order your credit report call: 1-800-685-1111 or write: P.O. Box\u00a0740241, Alanta, GA 30374-0241. To report fraud call: 1-800-525-6285 and write\u00a0to the same address.<\/p>\n

Experian<\/strong>: To order your report call: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) or write: P.O.\u00a0Box 2104, Allen, TX 75013\u00a0To report fraud call same number and write: P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013<\/p>\n

TransUnion<\/strong>: To order your report call: 1-800-916-8800 or write: P.O. Box 1000,\u00a0Chester, PA 19022. To report fraud call: 1-800-680-7289 and write: Fraud Victim\u00a0Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790<\/p>\n

Federal Trade Commission<\/strong>: Identity Theft Hotline: toll free 1-877-IDTHEFT or\u00a0write: Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania\u00a0Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.<\/p>\n

Cases of stolen identity happen to real people every day. Protect your identity\u00a0and your good name.<\/p>\n

DMCC is a 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization committed to educating consumers on financial issues and providing personal assistance to consumers who have become overextended with debt.\u00a0 Education is provided free of charge to consumers, as well as personal counseling to identify the best options for the repayment of their debt. To speak to a certified credit counselor, call toll-free 866-618-3328 or emailcontact@dmcconline.org<\/a>. DMCC is located at 3310 N. Federal Highway, Lighthouse Point, FL 33064.<\/em><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to the Federal Trade Commission, over half a million Americans will\u00a0have their identities stolen\u00a0each year. \u00a0The most common types of identity theft are:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-identity-theft"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5shu1-5U","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":368,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366\/revisions\/368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmcccorp.org\/edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}