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Six Tips to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft | US Equity Advantage

More than 330,000 people were victims of identity theft last year, making it the top consumer complaint reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the past 15 years. Identity theft happens when someone steals your personal information. It can disrupt your finances, ruin your credit history and take years to resolve.

Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. Children are prime targets because thieves

know almost no one monitors a child's credit report, allowing them to use the stolen identity for

years before being detected. The elderly are often more socially isolated and trusting as well as

susceptible to the risk of medical identity theft because of their increased contact with multiple

physician, nursing and home caregivers.

“Your personal information is a valuable commodity. It’s not only the key to your financial

identity, but also to your online identity,” the FTC warns. It can be stolen using low-tech methods

such as purse snatching and dumpster diving or high-tech schemes like deceptive phishing e-

mails or malicious software. “Knowing how to protect your information — and your identity — is

a must in the 21st century.”

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Tax-related identity theft is the most common form of identity theft reported to the FTC. It

typically happens when a scammer files a fraudulent tax return using a consumer’s Social

Security number in order to receive a refund. However, the FTC also has seen an explosion in

IRS impersonation phone scams. The caller claims a consumer owes money to the IRS and

directs them to pay by wiring money or loading money onto a pre-paid debit card or face the

threat of arrest or legal action.

It is important to know that the IRS will never call a consumer about unpaid taxes or penalties. If

you believe you are the victim of tax-related identify theft, immediately report it to the FTC

at www.ftc.gov and contact one of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your

credit records.

Here are some ways to protect your personal information:

When shopping or banking online, make sure you use encrypted websites that have “https” at

the beginning of the web address (“s” is for secure). This is especially important when using a

public wireless network.

Delete email, text and phone messages that ask for personal information. Legitimate companies

don’t ask for information this way while identity thieves often misuse well-known business

names to trick you into revealing it.

Regularly monitor your credit reports for unwarranted collection notices.

Read your bank, credit card and other account statements, and the explanation of medical

benefits from your health plan. If there are mistakes or your bills and statements do not arrive on

time, contact the business.

Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and a firewall on your computer.

Don’t carry your Social Security card in your wallet or any document that has your SSN on it.

The FTC recently launched an online resource that makes it easier for consumers to report and

recover from identity theft. The new website helps victims understand the steps to take upon

learning their identity has been stolen and provides an interactive checklist that guides them

through the recovery process. To learn more, visit IdentityTheft.gov.