Department of Justice Advice on Avoiding ID Theft
The Department of Justice advises the following precations to avoid having your identity stolen:
1. Only share identity information when necessary. Your social security number should be protected as much as possible. That means destroying documents on which it appears as a routine matter before you take out the trash, using a good shredder. For a long time, lots of companies and government agencies have used the social security number as an identifier. The DOJ suggests you no longer consent to this, while admitting that “businesses may choose not to provide a service or benefit without obtaining a person's SSN.” I'm sure you're not going to get treatment in any hospital emergency room if you decide to get sticky about disclosing your social security number. So argue with the nurse while you bleed to death. Still, that's what they recommend.
2. When in public, exercise caution when providing any identity information. Watch out for security leaks when you are punching in your PIN at an ATM, and “do not put identity information, such as an address or license plate number, on a key ring or anything similar that can easily be observed or lost. Identity information on such objects simply provides thieves easier means of finding and accessing homes and cars.”
3. Don't carry unnecessary I.D. in your purse or wallet. Pickpockets and purse snatchers are now operating on the Jonathan Wild premise — the information inside may be worth more than the cash. The DOJ recommends you carry only your driver's license, car insurance, one credit or debit card, and leave your social security card, birth certificate or passport at home, under lock and key. By not carrying so much in your purse or wallet, it is easier to identify which piece of I.D. you have lost, and simplify the task of notifying creditors and replacing the information.
4. Secure your mailbox. Never deposit outgoing mail in a residential mailbox, and particularly do not raise the red flag on the mailbox, which the DOJ says is “simply an invitation to steal.”
5. Secure information on your personal computer. Use passwords, firewalls, and avoid creating little treasure troves of information that can easily be found and exploited.
6. Keep medical and financial records in a secure location. Protect these records from burglars by putting them in a locked safe or file cabinet.
7. Shred non-essential material that contains identity information. Obtain a quality shredder, and destroy all receipts of completed credit or debit card transactions, financial records, canceled bank checks and statements, outdated insurance or financial information, and especially any junk mail that includes pre-approved credit applications and subscription solicitations.
8. Sanitize the contents of garbage and recycling. Avoid putting any material that contains identity information in the ordinary trash or recycling.
9. Insure that organizations shred identity information. I'm not sure how you can do this, but the DOJ says that “customers of businesses, clients of firms, and patients of medical facilities should insist that all data be shredded before being discarded and that all retained data be kept in secure storage.” Good luck.
10. Remove your name from mailing lists. The DOJ suggests using this number — 888-50PT-0UT to opt out of the mailing lists of the three major credit bureaus.
11. Carefully review financial statements. Don't ignore your bank card, credit card, or checking account statements for long. Review them and make sure there are no inappropriate charges, rather than simply paying the bill. If you notice any inappropriate charges, check them out immediately and begin the process of credit clean up. Also, pay attention to billing cycles. If you don't get a statement, that could mean a thief has stolen it and your identity is on its way to being assumed.
12. Periodically request copies of credit reports.
If you are, for whatever reason, extremely concerned about the status of your credit history, you can order regular monitoring from each of the big three CRAs. They offer different plans, and I hesitate to try and summarize them, because they will probably change with market conditions. When you get the report, look at all of the credit accounts. If there are any credit accounts there that you did not open, there is a serious problem. Also look for credit inquiries, lenders calling in to ask how your credit looks. Generally speaking, nobody makes such an inquiry unless you make a request for credit, so it is highly suspicious if you see inquiries made that have nothing to do with your own credit requests. Think about your employees and contractors, and what access they have to information, both your own and that of third parties. This is the sort of information that should be made confidential from the very outset in the employment or contractor agreement, and it should be absolutely clear that whenever an employee leaves, all of their passwords are changed and the change is verified on the exit agreement.
How can you deal with identity theft that has already happened? The biggest problem is failing to act quickly to stem the damage. First, close all credit or checking accounts that show unauthorized charges. Next, contact an attorney immediately and make a formal police report with your local police or sheriff. This may not strike you as the first, most important thing to do; however, it is essential. It is highly unlikely that your local constable will know what to do about identity theft, because among other things, the crime probably did not occur in your vicinity, and was accomplished by some apartment dwellers in Newport Beach, California (the undisputed capital of financial fraud in the United States). Nevertheless, take yourself down to the local police station and make that first police report as soon as you find any indicators of identity theft marring your credit report. Third, contact all of the credit reporting agencies and your creditors immediately in order to get remedial action going, and establish a clear path to eliminating all falsely-generated information from your credit report. The FTC has come up with a standard affidavit that you can fill out and send to the credit reporting agencies and anyone else who is wrongfully accusing you of taking out credit cards, buying things and having debts that aren't really yours. Fourth, don't give up on the process just because you meet with bureaucratic inertia or police apathy. Set up a consultation with us immediately, and we'll work on breaking the logjam. Your “good name” is all you've got!
1. Only share identity information when necessary. Your social security number should be protected as much as possible. That means destroying documents on which it appears as a routine matter before you take out the trash, using a good shredder. For a long time, lots of companies and government agencies have used the social security number as an identifier. The DOJ suggests you no longer consent to this, while admitting that “businesses may choose not to provide a service or benefit without obtaining a person's SSN.” I'm sure you're not going to get treatment in any hospital emergency room if you decide to get sticky about disclosing your social security number. So argue with the nurse while you bleed to death. Still, that's what they recommend.
2. When in public, exercise caution when providing any identity information. Watch out for security leaks when you are punching in your PIN at an ATM, and “do not put identity information, such as an address or license plate number, on a key ring or anything similar that can easily be observed or lost. Identity information on such objects simply provides thieves easier means of finding and accessing homes and cars.”
3. Don't carry unnecessary I.D. in your purse or wallet. Pickpockets and purse snatchers are now operating on the Jonathan Wild premise — the information inside may be worth more than the cash. The DOJ recommends you carry only your driver's license, car insurance, one credit or debit card, and leave your social security card, birth certificate or passport at home, under lock and key. By not carrying so much in your purse or wallet, it is easier to identify which piece of I.D. you have lost, and simplify the task of notifying creditors and replacing the information.
4. Secure your mailbox. Never deposit outgoing mail in a residential mailbox, and particularly do not raise the red flag on the mailbox, which the DOJ says is “simply an invitation to steal.”
5. Secure information on your personal computer. Use passwords, firewalls, and avoid creating little treasure troves of information that can easily be found and exploited.
6. Keep medical and financial records in a secure location. Protect these records from burglars by putting them in a locked safe or file cabinet.
7. Shred non-essential material that contains identity information. Obtain a quality shredder, and destroy all receipts of completed credit or debit card transactions, financial records, canceled bank checks and statements, outdated insurance or financial information, and especially any junk mail that includes pre-approved credit applications and subscription solicitations.
8. Sanitize the contents of garbage and recycling. Avoid putting any material that contains identity information in the ordinary trash or recycling.
9. Insure that organizations shred identity information. I'm not sure how you can do this, but the DOJ says that “customers of businesses, clients of firms, and patients of medical facilities should insist that all data be shredded before being discarded and that all retained data be kept in secure storage.” Good luck.
10. Remove your name from mailing lists. The DOJ suggests using this number — 888-50PT-0UT to opt out of the mailing lists of the three major credit bureaus.
11. Carefully review financial statements. Don't ignore your bank card, credit card, or checking account statements for long. Review them and make sure there are no inappropriate charges, rather than simply paying the bill. If you notice any inappropriate charges, check them out immediately and begin the process of credit clean up. Also, pay attention to billing cycles. If you don't get a statement, that could mean a thief has stolen it and your identity is on its way to being assumed.
12. Periodically request copies of credit reports.
If you are, for whatever reason, extremely concerned about the status of your credit history, you can order regular monitoring from each of the big three CRAs. They offer different plans, and I hesitate to try and summarize them, because they will probably change with market conditions. When you get the report, look at all of the credit accounts. If there are any credit accounts there that you did not open, there is a serious problem. Also look for credit inquiries, lenders calling in to ask how your credit looks. Generally speaking, nobody makes such an inquiry unless you make a request for credit, so it is highly suspicious if you see inquiries made that have nothing to do with your own credit requests. Think about your employees and contractors, and what access they have to information, both your own and that of third parties. This is the sort of information that should be made confidential from the very outset in the employment or contractor agreement, and it should be absolutely clear that whenever an employee leaves, all of their passwords are changed and the change is verified on the exit agreement.
How can you deal with identity theft that has already happened? The biggest problem is failing to act quickly to stem the damage. First, close all credit or checking accounts that show unauthorized charges. Next, contact an attorney immediately and make a formal police report with your local police or sheriff. This may not strike you as the first, most important thing to do; however, it is essential. It is highly unlikely that your local constable will know what to do about identity theft, because among other things, the crime probably did not occur in your vicinity, and was accomplished by some apartment dwellers in Newport Beach, California (the undisputed capital of financial fraud in the United States). Nevertheless, take yourself down to the local police station and make that first police report as soon as you find any indicators of identity theft marring your credit report. Third, contact all of the credit reporting agencies and your creditors immediately in order to get remedial action going, and establish a clear path to eliminating all falsely-generated information from your credit report. The FTC has come up with a standard affidavit that you can fill out and send to the credit reporting agencies and anyone else who is wrongfully accusing you of taking out credit cards, buying things and having debts that aren't really yours. Fourth, don't give up on the process just because you meet with bureaucratic inertia or police apathy. Set up a consultation with us immediately, and we'll work on breaking the logjam. Your “good name” is all you've got!