Tips to Prevent Fraud

There are some simple ways to reduce your chances of becoming a fraud victim:

Protect your information at home

• Install a lockable mailbox at your residence to reduce mail theft.
• Limit the number of credit cards you have and cancel inactive accounts.
• Reconcile your check and credit card statements in a timely fashion. Immediately challenge any purchases you did not make.
• Scrutinize your utility and subscription bills to make sure the charges are yours.
• Keep a list of all your credit accounts and bank accounts in a secure place so you can quickly call the issuers to inform them about missing or stolen cards. Include account numbers, expiration dates and telephone numbers of customer service and fraud departments.
• Do not toss pre-approved credit offers in your trash or recycling bin without first tearing them into small pieces or shredding them. Dumpster divers can use these offers to order credit cards in your name and mail them to their address. Always do the same with other sensitive information like credit card receipts and phone bills.
• Avoid credit repair scams. If you are tempted to contact a credit repair company for help, use considerable caution. The FTC and a number of state attorney generals have sued credit repair companies for false promises to remove bad information from credit reports. Only inaccurate information may be removed from your credit report; negative information that is accurate (such as a bankruptcy filing or a defaulted loan) will stay on your credit report as long as governing laws allow.

Limit what information thieves can get from your purse or wallet

• Do not carry your extra credit cards, Social Security card, birth certificate, or passport in your wallet or purse except when necessary. This practice minimizes the amount of information a thief can steal.
• Memorize your passwords and personal identification numbers (PINs) so you do not have to write them down. Be aware of your surroundings to make sure no one is watching you enter your PIN.
• Safeguard your credit, debit and ATM card receipts. Shred them before discarding.
  
• Do take credit card receipts with you - never toss them in a public trash container - but be sure you dispose of them properly and promptly so they aren't available for theft from your wallet or purse.
• Never leave your purse or wallet unattended at work, church, restaurants, health fitness clubs, parties or shopping carts. Never leave your purse or wallet in open view in your car, even when your car is locked.

Protect your Social Security Number and account access

• Never give any credit card, bank or Social Security information to anyone by telephone, even if you made the call, unless you can positively verify that the call is legitimate.
• Minimize exposure of your Social Security and credit card numbers. If the numbers are requested for check-cashing purposes, ask if the business has alternative options such as a check-cashing card.
• Do not have your bank send your new checks to your home address. Tell the bank that you prefer to pick them up.
• Destroy all checks immediately after you close a checking account. Destroy or keep in a secure place any courtesy checks that your bank or credit card company sends to you.
• Do not allow your financial institution to print your Social Security Number on your personal checks.