Identity Theft How to Protect Your Name (25 page)

•

Ask your employer to control access to sensitive, personal information…and to limit the use of your Social Security number in the workplace.

•

Buy a personal shredder
and use it to shred bank and credit card statements, canceled checks and pre-approved offers before throwing away.

•

Secure your mailbox
with a locking mechanism or use a door with a mail slot.

•

Avoid leaving outgoing checks or paid bills in your residential mailbox. Take all mail to the post office or nearest U.S.

Mailbox. Consider paying bills electronically.

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•

Check your credit report annually with Experian, TransUnion or Equifax and look for address changes and fraudulent accounts.

•

Pick up re-ordered checks
at your bank instead of having them mailed to you.

•

Notify your credit card company if your card has expired and you have not yet received a replacement.

•

Clean your wallet
out of excess information. Do not carry your Social Security card.

•

Check your bills carefully. Look for dis-crepancies between your receipts and statements. Open bills promptly and report anything unchecked quickly.

•

When making purchases with a credit card in public, keep your eyes on your card, try to keep the numbers facing down, and get it back as soon as possible.

•

Keep a
record of your credit card information
in a safe place.

•

Limit amount of information on the Internet, including your home page or Web sites that detail family genealogy.

•

Don’t give out personal information over the phone unless you initiated the call and know who you are calling.

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T H E B I G T H R E E C R E D I T B U R E A U S

Equifax
:
www.equifax.com
•

To order your report, call: (800) 685-1111

or write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241.

•

To report fraud, call: (800) 525-6285 and write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241.

•

Hearing impaired call (800) 255-0056

and ask the operator to call the Auto Disclosure Line at 1-800-685-1111 to request a copy of your report.

Experian
:
www.experian.com
•

To order your report, call: (888) EXPERIAN (397-3742) or write: P.O.

Box 2002, Allen TX 75013.

•

To report fraud, call: (888) EXPERIAN

(397-3742) and write: P.O. Box 9530, Allen TX 75013; TDD: 1-800-972-0322.

TransUnion
:
www.transunion.com
•

To order your report, call: (800) 888-4213

or write: P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022.

•

To report fraud, call: (800) 680-7289 and write: Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92634; TDD: 1-877-553-7803.

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O T H E R T I P S

•

Seek
legal council
if you have a problem getting creditors or credit reporting agencies to remove fraudulent entries.

•

Use different personal identification numbers (PINs) and passwords to open a new accounts.

•

Obtain new ATM cards with new passwords. Ask the bank to issue you a secret password that must be used in every transaction. Put
stop payments
out on any outstanding checks that you are unsure of.

•

Report stolen checks and fraudulent bank activity to Telecheck and National Processing Company (NPC). These companies will flag your file so that bogus checks will be turned down. Call TeleCheck: (800) 710-9898 or 927-0188.

Call NPC at (800) 526-5380. Call Certegy, Inc. (previously Equifax Check Systems) at (800) 437-5120.

•

To find out if the identity thief has been passing bad checks in your name, call: SCAN: (800) 262-7771.

•

Notify the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General if your Social Security number has been used fraudulently. If your number has become associated with bad checks and credit, you may want to have your number changed…but this should only be considered during extreme situations. You
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must notify all credit grantors and credit reporting bureaus of your new SSN.

•

Notify the
Passport Office
to be on the lookout for anyone ordering a new passport fraudulently.

•

Call your telephone, electric, gas and water companies and warn them that someone might attempt to open new service using your identification (see below).

•

File a complaint with the U.S. Postal Service if personal mail was stolen (see below).

•

Be polite but persistent when pursuing the clean-up. Discuss your situation with trusted friends and perhaps seek the advice and support from a counselor or victim rights organization.

•

Contacting your local
Consumer Credit
Counseling Service
office might expedite removal of fraudulent claims from your credit report. Call (800) 388-2227.

If you’re having trouble getting your financial institution to help you resolve your banking-related identity theft problems, including problems with bank-issued credit cards, contact the agency with the appropriate jurisdiction. If you’re not sure which of the agencies listed below has jurisdiction over your institution, call your bank or visit
www.ffiec.gov/nic.htm
and click on “Institution Search.”

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T H E F D I C

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) at
www.fdic.gov
supervises state-chartered banks that are not members of the Federal Reserve System and insures deposits at banks and
savings and loans
.

Call the FDIC Consumer Call Center at (800) 934-3342; or write: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Division of Compliance and Consumer Affairs, 550 17th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20429.

F E D E R A L R E S E R V E

The Federal Reserve System (Fed) at
www.federalreserve.gov
supervises state-chartered banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System.

Call: (202) 452-3693; or write: Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, Mail Stop 801, Federal Reserve Board, Washington, D.C. 20551; or contact the Federal Reserve Bank in your area. The 12 Reserve Banks are located in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas and San Francisco.

T H E N C U A
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) at
www.ncua.gov
charters and supervises
federal credit
unions
and insures deposits at federal credit unions and many state credit unions.

Call: (703) 518-6360; or write: Compliance Officer, National Credit Union Administration, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.

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T H E O C C

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) at
www.occ.treas.gov
charters and supervises
national banks
. If the word “national” appears in the name of a bank, or the initials “N.A.” follow its name, the OCC oversees its operations.

Call: (800) 613-6743 (business days 9:00 A.M. to 4:00

P.M. CST); fax: (713) 336-4301; write: Customer Assistance Group, 1301 McKinney Street, Suite 3710, Houston, TX 77010.

T H E O T S

The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) at
www.ots.treas.gov
is the primary regulator of all federal, and many state-chartered,
thrift institutions
, which include savings banks and savings and loan institutions.

Call: (202) 906-6000; or write: Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

20552.

M A I L F R A U D

•

The
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
(USPIS) is the law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service and is responsible for investigating cases of identity theft.

•

USPIS has primary jurisdiction in all matters infringing on the integrity of the U.S. mail.

•

If an identity thief has stolen your mail to get new credit cards, bank or credit
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card statements, pre-screened credit offers or tax information, has falsified change-of-address forms, or obtained your personal information through a fraud conducted by mail, report it to your local postal inspector.

•

You can locate the USPIS district office nearest you by calling your local post office or checking the list at
www.usps.gov/

websites/depart/inspect
.

B A N K R U P T C Y F R A U D

If you believe someone has filed for bankruptcy in your name, write to the
U.S. Trustee (UST)
in the region where the bankruptcy was filed.

A list of the U.S. Trustee Programs’ Regional Offices is available on the UST Web site, or check the Blue Pages of your phone book under “U.S. Government Bankruptcy Administration.”

For more information, visit the Web site at
www.usdoj.gov/ust
I N V E S T M E N T F R A U D

The
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s
(SEC) Office of Investor Education and Assistance
serves investors who complain to the SEC

about investment fraud or the mishandling of their investments by securities professionals.

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Additional investment fraud tips: •

If you believe that an identity thief has tampered with your securities investments or a brokerage account, immediately report it to your broker or account manager and to the SEC.

•

You can file a complaint with the SEC

using the online complaint center at:
www.sec.gov/complaint.shtml
.

•

Be sure to include as much detail as possible. If you don’t have access to the Internet, you can write to the SEC at: SEC Office of Investor Education and Assistance, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington D.C., 20549-0213. For general questions, call (202) 942-7040. For general information:
www.sec.gov
.

P A S S P O R T F R A U D

If you’ve lost your passport or believe it was stolen, or is being used fraudulently, contact the
United States
Department of State (USDS)
at
www.travel.state.gov/

passport_services.html
or call a local USDS field office.

Local field offices are listed in the Blue Pages of your telephone directory.

P H O N E F R A U D

If an identity thief has established phone service in your name, is making unauthorized calls that seem to come from—and are billed to—your cellular phone,
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or is using your calling card and PIN, contact your service provider immediately to cancel the account and/or calling card. Other phone fraud tips: •

Open new accounts and choose new PINs. If you’re having trouble getting fraudulent phone charges removed from your account or getting an unauthorized account closed, contact the appropriate agency from the list below.

•

For local service, contact your state
Public Utility Commission
, listed in the Blue Pages of your telephone directory.

•

For cellular phones and long distance, contact the Federal Communications Commission (FCC;
www.fcc.gov).
The FCC regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satel-lite and cable.

•

You can contact the FCC’s Consumer Information Bureau to find out about information, forms, applications and current issues before the FCC. Call: (888) CALL-FCC; TTY: (888) TELL-FCC; or write: Federal Communications Commission, Consumer Information Bureau, 445 12th Street, SW, Room 5A863, Washington, D.C. 20554.

•

You can file complaints via the online complaint form at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/

complaints.html
, or e-mail questions to [email protected].

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S T U D E N T L O A N F R A U D

Contact the school or program that opened the student loan to close the loan. At the same time, report the fraudulent loan to the
U.S. Department of Education
.

•

Call: Inspector General’s Hotline at (800) MISUSED

•

Online:
www.ed.gov/offices/OIG/hotline.htm
•

Write: Office of Inspector General; U.S.

Department of Education; 400 Maryland Avenue, SW; Washington, D.C.

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T A X F R A U D

The
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
(
www.treas.gov/

irs/ci
) is responsible for administering and enforcing tax laws.

If you believe someone has assumed your identity to file federal Income Tax Returns, or to commit other tax fraud, call toll-free: (800) 829-0433.

Victims of identity theft who are having trouble filing their returns should call the IRS Taxpayer Advocates Office, toll-free: (877) 777-4778.

S S N T H E F T A N D M I S U S E

The SSA’s Office of the Inspector General investigates cases that involve the use of your SSN to fraudulently obtain Social Security benefits.

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The SSA Office also investigate cases that involve the use of counterfeit SSN cards, the manufacturing or selling of counterfeit SSN cards, the selling of legitimate SSN cards or information, or the misuse of SSNs linked to terrorist groups or activities. Tips for SSN abuse:

•

Report any of these allegations to the SSA Fraud Hotline. Call: (800) 269-0271; fax: (410) 597-0118; write: SSA Fraud Hotline, P.O. Box 17768, Baltimore, MD