Identity Theft Protection Information

If your personal information has been lost or stolen taking the following actions quickly is the imperative to minimize the potential for identity theft.

Financial accounts: Close accounts, like credit cards and bank accounts, immediately. When you open new accounts, place passwords on them. Avoid using your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your Social Security number (SSN) or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.

Social Security number: Call the toll-free fraud number of any of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies and place an initial fraud alert on your credit reports. An alert can help stop someone from opening new credit accounts in your name.

Driver's license/other government-issued identification: Contact the agency that issued the license or other identification document. Follow its procedures to cancel the document and to get a replacement. Ask the agency to flag your file so that no one else can get a license or any other identification document from them in your name.

Please also know that these protective measures will not guarantee that a criminal will not get access to your credit from a "less than cautious" credit grantor. As you know, there are many ways to steal private information about you (i.e., anyone who has access to your social security number and other identifying information.) All of these offices have your information: Your doctor, accountant, lawyer, loan officer, health insurance, schools, courts, etc. A shady employee of these people could steal your identity! Remember, you don't have to lose your wallet or have it stolen to become a victim of identity theft.

In addition, here are some other things that you should do to protect your privacy, which will help to reduce the risk of Identity Theft.

1. Watch your credit report. An amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the major nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit reports, at your request, once every 12 months. Review it carefully. If you see anything that appears fraudulent, immediately put a fraud alert on your reports by calling the numbers below.
2. Immediately correct all mistakes on your credit reports in writing. Send those letters Return Receipt Requested, and identify the problems item by item with a copy of the credit report back to the credit reporting agency. You should hear from them within 30 days.
3. Memorize social security numbers and passwords. Additionally, you should password protect credit card, bank, and phone accounts. Avoid using easily available information like your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your Social Security number or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.
4. Be careful at ATM's and using Phone Cards. "Shoulder Surfers" can get your "Pin Number" and get access to your accounts.
5. Secure personal information in your home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help, or are having work done in your home. Invest in a cross-cut type shredder (you can purchase cross-cut type shredder very cost effectively for approximately $60 - $70.) Shred all your important papers and especially pre-approved credit applications received in your name and other financial information that provides access to your private information. Don't forget to shred your credit card receipts.
6. Ask all financial institutions, doctors' offices, etc., what they do with your private information and make sure that they shred it and protect your information. Find out if your information will be shared with anyone else. If so, ask how your information can be kept confidential.
7. When you are asked to identify yourself at schools, employers, or any other kind of institutional identification, ask to have an alternative to your social security number. Unfortunately, your health insurance carrier often uses your social security number as your identification number.
8. Never give out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or on the Internet unless you've initiated the contact or are sure you know who you're dealing with. If you have been approached by someone claiming to be a credit grantor of yours call them back at the number that you know is the true number, and ask for that party to discuss personal information. Provide only information that you believe is absolutely necessary. Identity thieves are clever, and have posed as representatives of banks, Internet service providers (ISPs), and even government agencies to get people to reveal their Social Security number, mother's maiden name, account numbers, and other identifying information. Before you share any personal information, confirm that you are dealing with a legitimate organization. Check an organization's website by typing its URL in the address line, rather than cutting and pasting it. Many companies post scam alerts when their name is used improperly. Or call customer service using the number listed on your account statement or in the telephone book. For more information, see How Not to Get Hooked by a 'Phishing' Scam.
9. Treat your mail and trash carefully. Be careful of "Dumpster Diving." Make sure that you do not throw anything away that someone could use to become you. Anything with your identifiers must be shredded (cross-cut) before throwing away.
10. Do not put checks in the mail from your home mailbox. Drop them off at a U.S. Mailbox or the U.S. Post Office. Mail theft is common. It's easy to change the name of the recipient on the check with an acid wash. Promptly remove mail from your mailbox. If you're planning to be away from home and can't pick up your mail, call the U.S. Postal Service at 1-800-275-8777 to request a vacation hold. The Postal Service will hold your mail at your local post office until you can pick it up or are home to receive it.
11. Take your name off all promotional lists. Call the three credit reporting agency numbers to opt out of pre-approved offers. To opt out of receiving offers of credit in the mail, call: 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688). The three nationwide consumer reporting companies use the same toll-free number to let consumers choose not to receive credit offers based on their lists. Note: You will be asked to provide your Social Security number which the consumer reporting companies need to match you with your file.
12. Carry only the identification information and the credit and debit cards that you'll actually need when you go out. Empty your wallet of all extra credit cards and social security numbers, etc. Do not carry any identifiers you do not need. Don't carry your birth certificate, social security card, or passport, unless necessary.
13. Cancel all credit cards that you do not use or have not used in 6 months. Thieves use these very easily - open credit is a prime target.
14. Keep your purse or wallet in a safe place at work; do the same with copies of administrative forms that have your sensitive personal information.
15. Get all of your checks delivered to your bank - not to your home address.
16. Do not put your social security number on your checks or your credit receipts. If a business requests your social security number, give them an alternate number and tell them why. They do not need that to identify you. If a government agency requests your social security number, there must be a privacy notice accompanying the request.
17. Do not put your telephone number on your checks.
18. Monitor all your bank statements from every credit card every month. Check to see if there is anything that you do not recognize and call the credit grantor to verify that it is truly yours.
19. Get credit cards and business cards with your picture on them.
20. Get a post office box or a locked mailbox, if you possibly can.
21. When you order new credit cards in the mail, or your previous ones have expired, watch the calendar to make sure that you get the card within the appropriate time. If it is not received by a certain date, call the credit card grantor immediately and find out if the card was sent. Find out if a change of address was filed if you don't receive the card or a billing statement.
22. When sending payments do not put your account numbers on the outside of envelopes, or on your checks.

You may be careful about locking your doors and windows, and keeping your personal papers in a secure place. Depending on what you use your personal computer for, an identity thief may not need to set foot in your house to steal your personal information. You may store your Social Security number, financial records, tax returns, birth date, and bank account numbers on your computer. These tips can help you keep your computer ? and the personal information it stores ? safe.

1. Install and update regularly a virus protection software. AVG offers a quality protection software at no charge.
2. Do not open files sent to you by strangers, or click on hyperlinks or download programs from people you don't know. Be careful about using file-sharing programs. Opening a file could expose your system to a computer virus or a program known as "spyware," which could capture your passwords or any other information as you type it into your keyboard.
3. Try not to store financial information on your laptop unless absolutely necessary. If you do, use a strong password with a combination of letters (upper and lower case), numbers and symbols. A good way to create a strong password is to think of a memorable phrase and use the first letter of each word as your password, converting some letters into numbers that resemble letters. For example, "I love Felix; he's a good cat," would become 1LFHA6c. Don't use an automatic log-in feature that saves your user name and password, and always log off when you're finished. That way, if your laptop is stolen, it's harder for a thief to access your personal information.
4. When shopping online make sure the site uses a secure server that encrypts your data. If the website does not offer a secure order page, your information can easily be obtained by identity theives.
5. Before you dispose of a computer, delete all the personal information it stored. Deleting files using the keyboard or mouse commands or reformatting your hard drive may not be enough because the files may stay on the computer's hard drive, where they may be retrieved easily. Use a "wipe" utility program to overwrite the entire hard drive.

Equifax P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374 1-800-525-6285 www.equifax.com

Experian (TRW) P.O. Box 9532 Allen, TX 75013 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com

TransUnion Corp P.O. Box 6790 Fullerton, CA 92834 1-800-680-7289 www.transunion.com