Identity Theft: How to Protect Yourself

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Identity TheftHow to Protect Yourself
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How does it happen?

• Identity thieves might
• Steal mail from your mailbox.
• File a change of address form in your name to
  redirect your mail.

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Other identity thief tricks

• They might
• Steal pre-approved credit card applications from
  the trash.
• Go dumpster diving for bank statements or
  cancelled checks.
• Steal wallets and purses.

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Other identity thief tricks continued

• Phishing An authentic-looking e-mail that
  directs you to a web site to update your
  information.
• Pharming Hijacking web domains to the thiefs
  own sites to gather personal information.

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Phone Scams

• How this happens
• Someone pretending to be from the government
  contacts you. They ask for personal information
  for a legitimate reason (i.e., census research).
• Someone contacts you asking for a donation to a
  fictitious charity.

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Data Breaches

• Personal information from a business or
  organization data base.
• More than 155 million data records lost or stolen
  since 2005.
• Over 3 million from college and universities
• How?
• Hackers
• Accidental postings of personal information
• Stolen/lost laptops and data storage devices
• Employees steal data

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Twin Wi-Fi Hotspots

• Hacker creates a hotspot with the same (or
  similar) name as a legitimate hotspot at
  airports, coffee shops, etc.
• Users connect to the hackers hotspot instead of
  the legitimate one
• Hackers collect personal information

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How to Protect Yourself

• Mail
• Put outgoing mail in secured mailboxes -- U.S.
  Postal Service mailboxes or the post office.
• Monitor your mail. If a bill or statement doesnt
  arrive on time, find out why not.
• Buy a shredder. SHRED all billing statements and
  pre-approved credit card offers.

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How to Protect Yourself

• Banking
• Have new checks mailed to a P.O. Box or pick up
  them from the bank unless you have a secured
  mailbox.
• If you get an e-mail or phone call asking you to
  update your banking records, do not give out
  personal information. Call your bank yourself.

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How to Protect Yourself

• Check out e-mails before answering. Never open an
  e-mail attachment unless you expected it or know
  what it contains.
• Never click on a web link in an e-mail. Check it
  out by opening a new browser window and typing in
  the URL. Watch that the URL doesnt change when
  the site comes up. Check out e-mail scams at
  www.snopes.com.

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How to Protect Yourself

• Dont use easily available information (mothers
  maiden name, birth date, the last 4 digits of
  your SSN or phone number, or consecutive numbers)
  for passwords and PINs.
• Pay attention to announcements about data
  breaches.
• Learn what legitimate hotspot web pages look
  like. Dont send sensitive information through
  public Wi-Fi networks.

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Monitor Your Personal Information

• Check your credit card statements and bank
  records for unfamiliar transactions and report
  them.
• Check your credit report! Visit
  www.annualcreditreport.com
• If you must give out personal information via
  phone, do so in a secure area. You never know who
  could be listening.

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Reporting Identity Theft

• If you think your identity has been stolen
• Contact one of the three major credit reporting
  agencies to create a fraud alert with all three
• Equifax 1-800-766-0008
• Experian 1-888-397-3742
• TransUnion 1-800-680-7289
• Close accounts that have been tampered with.
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade
  Commission.
• File a report with the police.

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Other Tips for Reporting Identity Theft

• Act quickly!
• Keep a record of all conversations.
• Keep copies of e-mails.
• Make a copy of all documents you send and use
  certified mail.

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For individual help contact
The Peer Financial Counseling Program PFC_at_uga.edu
www.uga.edu/osfa/pfc
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Special Thanks to...