Identity Theft/Phishing/Spoofing

Here are some basics tips to help prevent you from becoming a victim of identity theft or phishing/spoofing. Remember, this is professional advice only. These tips are in NO way a guarantee that you will never become a victim. This is merely advice to help you protect yourself!
You can get detailed advice by calling the Federal Trade Commission’s ID Theft Clearinghouse toll-free at (877) 438-4338 or going to http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft. You can also provide information about your problem, which will help law enforcement agencies investigate and track ID theft. The FTC will send you a free booklet, “ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen To Your Good Name,” or you can get it online.



Here are the tips:

• If you believe that someone is using your identity illegally, report the crime to a law enforcement agency. You can report the crime to the Walton County Sheriff's Office or to a state or federal agency, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (do not use a complaint to the Federal Trade Comission as an official identity theft report).
• When a financial account is involved, contact the bank immediately. If your credit card, debit card, ATM card, or checks have been lost or stolen, or if you suspect that someone has obtained your account number for fraudulent purposes, inform the financial institution promptly and ask what you need to do to protect your money.
• Know your payment rights. Under federal law, you are not responsible for more than $50 if someone uses your credit card without authorization, and most issuers will remove the charges completely if you report the problem as soon as you discover it. While your losses could be greater if someone uses your debit card, the card issuer may have a policy that offers you more protection than federal law provides. You can contest checks that have been used with your forged signature or unauthorized withdrawals from your bank account.
• Ensure websites are secure prior to submitting your credit card number.
• Do your homework to ensure the business or website is legitimate.
• Attempt to obtain a physical address, rather than a P.O. box or maildrop.
• Never throw away credit card or bank statements in usable form.
• Be aware of missed bills which could indicate your account has been taken over.
• Be cautious of scams requiring you to provide your personal information.
• Never give your credit card number over the phone unless you make the call.
• Monitor your credit statements monthly for any fraudulent activity.
• Report unauthorized transactions to your bank or credit card company as soon as possible.
• Get free copies of your credit reports. When you file a fraud alert, the credit bureaus will contact you with information about how to get free copies of your credit reports.
• Be cautious about offers for credit monitoring services. Why pay extra for them when you can get your credit reports for free or very cheap? Read the description of the services carefully. You can purchase copies of your credit reports anytime for about $9 through the bureaus’ Web sites or by phone: Equifax, (800) 685-111; Experian, (800) 311-4769; TransUnion, (800) 888-4213.
• Be cautious when dealing with individuals outside of your own country.
• Know who you are doing business with - do your research.
• Always void and destroy incorrect receipts.
• Notify card companies in advance of a change in address.
• Never sign a blank credit card receipt. Carefully draw a line through blank portions of the receipt where additional charges could be fraudulently added.
• Shield your credit card number so that others around you can't copy it or capture it on a cell phone or other camera.
• Be suspicious of any unsolicited email requesting personal information.
• Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal information.
• Always compare the link in the email to the link that you are actually directed to.
• Log on to the official website, instead of "linking" to it from an unsolicited email.
• Contact the actual business that supposedly sent the email to verify if the email is genuine.
• Respond quickly to debt collectors. If debt collectors contact you about accounts opened in your name or unauthorized charges made to your existing accounts, respond immediately in writing, keeping a copy of your letter. Explain why you don’t owe the money and enclose copies of any supporting documents, such as an official identity theft report. You have the right to ask the debt collector for the name of the business that is owed the debt and the amount owed.
• Put a fraud alert in your credit files. This will oblige creditors to take extra precautions if someone applies for credit in your name to verify that it’s really you.
• Follow the instructions to dispute any accounts you didn’t open, charges you didn’t make, or other information that isn’t accurate. Be specific about any information that you believe is the result of the ID theft.
• Keep checking your credit report regularly. A new federal law entitles all consumers to ask each of the three major credit bureaus for free copies of their reports once in every 12-month period. Do not contact the credit bureaus directly for these free annual reports. They are only available by calling (877) 322-8228 or going to www.annualcreditreport.com.

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Over time, several agencies have published different flyers, articles, or videos to educate and warn the public of the potential crimes and how to protect themselves. Here are just a few of those:

Identity Theft Affidavit
Powerpoint Presentation About How To Avoid Identity Theft
Information Compromise and the Risk of Identity Theft
DETER, DETECT, DEFEND: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft
TAKE CHARGE: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft
ID THEFT: When Bad Things Happen To Your Good Name
PRIVACY: Tips for Protecting Your Personal Information
TALKING ABOUT IDENTITY THEFT: A How-To Guide
VIDEO: Avoid ID Theft