Everyday Habits to Protect Your Identity

Last year, more than 8 million Americans were victims of identity theft, resulting in the loss of more than $37 billion.* As staggering as these numbers may seem, they represent a decrease of nearly 30 percent compared to 2009. Americans are more aware now of the dangerous threat ID theft poses, and they are taking action.

To assist consumers, Better Business Bureau serving Eastern North Carolina (bbb.org) offers 10 everyday habits to help them protect their identity, online and offline.

1. Secure your personal documents at home.
   Securing your personal documents at home is always a good idea, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help or are having work done in your house.
2. Shred any mail that you don’t want to keep.
   This includes credit card applications, insurance forms, financial statements, health forms and billing statements. Also cut up expired credit and debit cards.
   
3. Monitor your bank and credit card transactions thoroughly.
   Criminals with your account number generally start with small transactions to see if you’ll notice.
4. Protect your Social Security number, all account numbers and passwords.
   Don’t carry these numbers in your wallet. Also, minimize the personal information you print on checks. You don’t need to include your Social Security number, phone number or driver’s license number.
5. Never respond to emails requesting to “verify” your personal information and identifiers.
   Your bank, credit card company, online payment system, the IRS—none of these organizations will call or email asking for your confidential information. They already have it.
6. Don’t create obvious passwords.
   Mix in some numbers with capital and lowercase letters.
7. Never use e-mail to communicate sensitive personal information.
   Examples of such personal information are your user name, passwords, Social Security number or credit card number.
8. Don’t use your PDA or cell phone to store bank information.
   Consumers should never store bank information such as credit card numbers or other financial information on their cellular devices.
9. Keep your computer system and browser software up to date and set the highest security level you can tolerate.
   Back up your data regularly on a separate storage device and never store passwords or financial information on your hard drive.
10. Check your credit report at least once per year.
    There is only one source authorized to give you ONE FREE annual credit file disclosure per year from each of the three consumer reporting companies. Call 877.322.8228 or visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com.

If an ID or credit card is lost or stolen, consumers should immediately notify their credit providers by phone and then notify each of the three credit bureaus to discuss if placing a “Fraud Alert” on your file is necessary. This alert tells creditors to follow certain procedures before they open new accounts in the consumer’s name or make changes to existing accounts. Here is contact information for the three credit bureaus:

Equifax:         800.525.6285 or www.equifax.com

Experian:       888.397.3742 or www.experian.com

TransUnion:   800.680.7289 or www.transunion.com

“Identity theft can affect anyone at anytime and can take extensive time to resolve,” says Toby Barfield, president and CEO of BBB Serving Eastern North Carolina. “Practicing these simple habits are a great first line of defense against ID thieves.”

To further assist members of the community, BBB is hosting its semi-annual “Secure Your ID” Day. The event will take place on Saturday, April 16, 2011. Free document shredding and ID protection tips will be offered from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Coastal Federal Credit Union, located off Wake Forest Road at 1000 St. Albans Drive, Raleigh, NC 27609. Visit www.easternnc.bbb.org/secure-your-id.