Tips on How to Avoid Fraud/Identity Theft

• Guard your financial information. Only provide credit card or bank account number when paying for something to guard financial information.
• Keep your social security number confidential. (It's the key that unlocks your identity.)
• Keep your mail safe. Your mail contains account numbers and other personal information. Collect it promptly from your mailbox and ask the post office to hold it if you're going away. Send bill payments from the post officer or a public mailbox, not from home.
• Shred any trash (papers) that may contain personal information
• Memorize passwords PIN numbers. Don't leave them in your wallet or on your desk where someone else could find them.
• Lock it up. Keep your personal information locked up at home, at work, at school, in your car, and other places where you might keep it so others won't have easy access to it.
• Beware of imposters. Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, claiming they need to verify your personal information. Be especially suspicious if someone contacts them by mail or phone and asks to provide information they should already have.
• Check your credit reports regularly. If you find accounts that don't belong to you or other incorrect information, follow the instructions for disputing those items.
• GET OFF CREDIT MARKETING LISTS (Call 888-567-8688). Credit bureaus compile marketing lists for pre-approved offers of credit. These mailings are a gold mine for identity thieves.