Identity Safety Tips That Can Protect Consumers
"This new research contradicts some common assumptions about identity theft fraud and points to new paths of prevention. There are several steps consumers can take to improve their identity safety and protect themselves against this type of fraud. An informed consumer is an empowered consumer," said Ken Hunter, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus.
Based on the latest findings, the Better Business Bureau, Wells Fargo, Visa and CheckFree have issued the following tips for consumers to protect themselves against financial identity fraud:
- Prevent access to your personal information
- Replace paper bills, statements and checks with Internet (paperless) versions
- Consider moving to an electronic bill payment service, such as your bank or biller's web site, and stop sending signed paper checks through the mail. Visit the site(s) to monitor account activity on a regular basis.
- Before discarding, shred all private documents
- Sign up for automatic payroll deposits
- Retrieve paper mail promptly and place outgoing checks or other sensitive documents in a U.S. Postal Service mailbox
- Keep passwords hidden (even in your own home) and change them frequently
- Don't discard a computer without deleting all sensitive data
- Use and regularly update firewall and anti-virus software
- Be suspiciously reluctant to release Social Security or account numbers, particularly to those requesting such information by e-mail or phone.
- When responding to e-mail, ignore any Internet links provided and type the full address instead
- Detect unauthorized activity
- Review bank and credit card statements weekly and use online account access
- Contact your financial provider if you fail to receive statements in a timely manner
- Use e-mail-based account "alerts" to monitor transfers, payments, low balances and withdrawals
- Sign up to receive electronic bills and statements and, whenever possible select the option to turn off the paper copy of these sensitive documents
- Review your credit report at least annually (free annual reviews are being made available this year, in phases, depending on where you live)
- Resolve fraud promptly, minimizing losses
- Ask your financial provider about zero-liability guarantees against fraud and dedicated resources to help you recover from any potential losses
- Victims of theft: notify your financial providers, begin monitoring your accounts more frequently, and place an "alert" through a credit bureau such as Equifax, Experian or TransUnion.
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