Boehner Column: Don't Become a Victim of Identity Theft

As you shop for gifts this holiday season, you should be aware that unscrupulous people are doing another kind of shopping – for your identity. Since 1998, identity theft – or identity fraud – has been a federal crime and the Department of Justice aggressively prosecutes these crimes.

There are steps you can take so that you do not become a victim of identity theft, and there are ways to recover your financial standing if this does happen to you. First, you should be aware of how an identity thief can access your private information.

While there are a variety of methods used to steal personal information, the five main ways are: Dumpster Diving in which thieves go through trash looking for bills or other paper with financial information; Skimming in which credit/debit card numbers are captured by a special device when your card is processed for a legitimate purchase; Phishing in which a thief pretends to be a financial institution in an e-mail hoping you will reply with bank account information; Changing Your Address in which a “change of address” form is used to divert your mail; and Old-Fashioned Stealing which involves stealing a purse, wallet, mail – including bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, new checks or tax information.

One of the easiest ways to prevent your financial information from being stolen is to shred documents before throwing them away. You can also deter thieves by protecting safeguarding your information. Protect your Social Security number by memorizing the number instead of carrying a card in your wallet; do not write the number on checks and do not give it out unless absolutely necessary. While some companies may request your Social Security number, it is rarely required that you must provide it.

You should never click on website links sent in unsolicited e-mails or from addresses that are not familiar. You can purchase firewall, anti-spyware and anti-virus software to protect your home computer. When creating online passwords or PIN numbers, don’t use obvious numbers such as birthdays and anniversaries or words like names or the street where you live. Keep your financial records in a safe place that only you have can access, especially if persons other than your immediate family have access to your home.

You can quickly detect suspicious activity by routinely monitoring your financial accounts and billing statements. Some things to watch for: bills that do not arrive as expected, unexpected credit cards or account statements, denials of credit for no apparent reason, and calls or letters about purchases you didn’t make.

When your bank and credit card statements arrive each month, carefully review and check them against your receipts and account register to make sure that all purchases are accounted for and nothing unexpected has been charged or withdrawn from your account.

You should also check your credit report to make sure that nothing unexpected has shown up on it. Your credit report contains information about you, the accounts you maintain and you bill-pay history. If an identity thief has tried to make major purchases or open credit cards under your name, these items will appear on your credit report – and can adversely impact your credit rating. By law, the major consumer reporting companies in the U.S. are required to give you a free copy of your credit report each year, if requested. You will find contact information for these companies at http://johnboehner.house.gov/ConstituentServices/IdentityTheft.htm.

If you do become a victim of identity theft, place a “Fraud Alert” on your credit reports and immediately begin reviewing the reports to determine the extent of the damage. The fraud alert will tell creditors to follow certain procedures before opening accounts in your name or making changes to existing accounts. Close any accounts that appear affected by someone else using your identity or new accounts opened by someone other than you. When you contact organizations about these accounts, keep records of these conversations (the date of the call, the name and position of person you spoke with) as well as getting verification such as a letter from each company that the account has been closed. You should also file a police report, which will assist you with creditors who may ask for proof that an identity theft has occurred.

While identity theft can be a very serious crime, it can be prevented by protecting your financial information. You can find more information through the Federal Trade Commission, http://www.ftc.gov/.