What is Identify Theft?
If You Become a Victim of Identity Theft
What Is Phishing?
How to Protect Yourself
What to Do If You Fall Victim
You Can Fight Identity Theft


Here are a few basic steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft and pretext calling:

Identity theft is the fraudulent use of a person's personal identifying information. Often, identity thieves will use another person's personal information, such as a social security number, mother's maiden name, date of birth, or account number to open fraudulent new credit card accounts, charge existing credit card accounts, write share drafts, open share accounts, or obtain new loans. They may obtain this information by:

• Stealing wallets that contain personal identification information and credit cards.
• Stealing credit union statements from the mail.
• Diverting mail from its intended recipients by submitting a change of address form.
• Rummaging through trash for personal data.
• Stealing personal identification information from workplace records.
• Intercepting or otherwise obtaining information transmitted electronically.

Pretext calling is a fraudulent means of obtaining a person's personal information. Pretext callers may contact credit union employees, posing as members, to access members' personal account information. Information obtained from pretext calling may be sold to debt collection services, attorneys, and private investigators to use in court proceedings. Identity thieves may also engage in pretext calling to obtain personal information to create fraudulent accounts.

• Do not give personal information, such as account numbers or social security numbers, over the telephone, through the mail, or over the Internet, unless you initiated the contact or know with whom you are dealing.
• Store personal information in a safe place and tear up old credit card receipts, ATM receipts, old account statements, and unused credit card offers before throwing them away.
• Protect your PINs and other passwords. Avoid using easily available information such as your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your social security number, your phone number, etc.
• Carry only the minimum amount of identifying information and number of credit cards that you need.
• Pay attention to billing cycles and statements. Inquire of the credit union, if you do not receive a monthly bill. It may mean that the bill has been diverted by an identity thief.
• Check account statements carefully to ensure all charges, share drafts, or withdrawals were authorized.
• Guard your mail from theft. If you have the type of mailbox with a flag to signal that the box contains mail, do not leave bill payment envelopes in your mailbox with the flag up. Instead, deposit them in a post office collection box or at the local post office. Promptly remove incoming mail.
• Order copies of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once a year to ensure that they are accurate. The law permits the credit bureaus to charge $8.50 for a copy of the report (unless you live in a state that requires the credit bureaus to provide you with one free copy of your report annually).
• If you prefer not to receive pre-approved offers of credit, you can opt out of such offers by calling 1-888-5OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688).
• If you want to remove your name from many national direct mail lists, send your name and address to:
  DMA Mail Preference Service
  P.O. Box 9008
  Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008
• If you want to reduce the number of telephone solicitations from many national marketers, send your name, address, and telephone number to:
  DMA Telephone Preference Service
  P.O. Box 9014
  Farmingdale, NY 11735-9014

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If you believe that someone has stolen your identity, you should:

• Contact the fraud department of each of the three major credit bureaus to report the identity theft and request that the credit bureaus place a fraud alert and a victim's statement in your file. The fraud alert puts creditors on notice that you have been the victim of fraud, and the victim's statement asks them not to open additional accounts without first contacting you.

The following are the telephone numbers for the fraud departments of the three national credit bureaus:

Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

Experian: 1-888-397-3742

• You may request a free copy of your credit report. Credit bureaus must provide a free copy of your report, if you have reason to believe the report is inaccurate because of fraud and you submit a request in writing.
• Review your report to make sure no additional fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name, or unauthorized changes made to your existing accounts. Also, check the section of your report that lists "inquiries" and request that any inquiries from companies that opened the fraudulent accounts be removed.
• Contact any credit union or other creditor where you have an account that you think may be the subject of identity theft. Advise them of the identity theft. Request that they restrict access to your account, change your account password, or close your account, if there is evidence that your account has been the target of criminal activity. If your credit union closes your account, ask them to issue you a new credit card, ATM card, debit card, or share drafts, as appropriate.
• File a report with your local police department.
• Contact the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline toll-free at 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338). The FTC puts the information into a secure consumer fraud database and shares it with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.

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There's a new type of Internet piracy called "phishing." It's pronounced "fishing," and that's exactly what these thieves are doing: "fishing" for your personal financial information. What they want are account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers, and other confidential information that they can use to loot your checking account or run up bills on your credit cards.

In the worst case, you could find yourself a victim of identity theft. With the sensitive information obtained from a successful phishing scam, these thieves can take out loans or obtain credit cards and even driver's licenses in your name. They can do damage to your financial history and personal reputation that can take years to unravel. But if you understand how phishing works and how to protect yourself, you can help stop this crime.

Here's how phishing works:

In a typical case, you'll receive an e-mail that appears to come from a reputable company that you recognize and do business with, such as your financial institution. In some cases, the e-mail may appear to come from a government agency, including one of the federal financial institution regulatory agencies.

The e-mail will probably warn you of a serious problem that requires your immediate attention. It may use phrases, such as "Immediate attention required," or "Please contact us immediately about your account." The e-mail will then encourage you to click on a button to go to the institution's Web site.

In a phishing scam, you could be redirected to a phony Web site that may look exactly like the real thing. Sometimes, in fact, it may be the company's actual Web site. In those cases, a pop-up window will quickly appear for the purpose of harvesting your financial information.

In either case, you may be asked to update your account information or to provide information for verification purposes: your Social Security number, your account number, your password, or the information you use to verify your identity when speaking to a real financial institution, such as your mother's maiden name or your place of birth.

If you provide the requested information, you may find yourself the victim of identity theft.

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Never provide your personal information in response to an unsolicited request, whether it is over the phone or over the Internet. E-mails and Internet pages created by phishers may look exactly like the real thing. They may even have a fake padlock icon that ordinarily is used to denote a secure site. If you did not initiate the communication, you should not provide any information.

If you believe the contact may be legitimate, contact the financial institution yourself. You can find phone numbers and Web sites on the monthly statements you receive from your financial institution, or you can look the company up in a phone book or on the Internet. The key is that you should be the one to initiate the contact, using contact information that you have verified yourself.

Never provide your password over the phone or in response to an unsolicited Internet request. A financial institution would never ask you to verify your account information online. Thieves armed with this information and your account number can help themselves to your savings.

Review account statements regularly to ensure all charges are correct. If your account statement is late in arriving, call your financial institution to find out why. If your financial institution offers electronic account access, periodically review activity online to catch suspicious activity.

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• Contact your financial institution immediately and alert it to the situation.
• If you have disclosed sensitive information in a phishing attack, you should also contact one of the three major credit bureaus and discuss whether you need to place a fraud alert on your file, which will help prevent thieves from opening a new account in your name.
Report all suspicious contacts to the Federal Trade Commission through the Internet at www.consumer.gov/idtheft, or by calling 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338).

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Here's how:

• Never provide personal financial information, including your Social Security number, account numbers or passwords, over the phone or the Internet if you did not initiate the contact.
• Never click on the link provided in an e-mail you believe is fraudulent. It may contain a virus that can contaminate your computer.
• Do not be intimidated by an e-mail or caller who suggests dire consequences if you do not immediately provide or verify financial information.
• If you believe the contact is legitimate, go to the company's Web site by typing in the site address directly or using a page you have previously book marked, instead of a link provided in the e-mail.
• If you fall victim to an attack, act immediately to protect yourself. Alert your financial institution. Place fraud alerts on your credit files. Monitor your credit files and account statements closely.
• Report suspicious e-mails or calls to the Federal Trade Commission through the Internet at www.consumer.gov/idtheft, or by calling 1-877-IDTHEFT.

This information was obtained by the following agencies:

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

National Credit Union Administration

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Office of Thrift Supervision

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