Don't be a victim of identity theft
Clark Howard, WSB-TV consumer adviser
Identity theft. You could already be a victim and not even know it.
The Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs says it's reaching epidemic levels in Georgia. Attorney General Thurbert Baker has made fighting it one of his top priorities. Tonight in his special assignment report, Consumer Adviser Clark Howard shows you how protect your most valuable possession, your good name.
Nicole Distasio is an identity theft victim.
Somehow, somewhere, her social security number ended up in the wrong hands.
"I'd love to know how she got it," Distasio says.
Most victims never know. All an identity theft needs is a name and social security number to rob you blind. How? The crook gets a driver's license with your picture on it, a social security card, and boom - someone else has your identity.
Now the criminal goes on wild shopping spree, and you get stuck with all the bills. And at some point and time, someone is going to knock on your door, or phone you, and say look, you owe us money.
So how do you keep this from happening to you? Here are four steps to keeping your identity:
1. Be careful when exposing your 3 most valuable pieces of information: your name, social security number, and date of birth.
"Guard your social security number. Do not use it as your driver's license number, do not put it on your checks," Distasio said.
Attorney General Thurbert Baker asks how often we as consumers get information that has our maiden names on it, our social security numbers on it, and we simply throw it in the trash.
2. Shred all financial documents.
"Tear up and shred any credit applications that are mailed to you at your house," says Barry Reid, head of the governor's office of consumer affairs.
3. Eliminate all pre-approved credit card applications that show up in your mailbox.
We've got some perpetrators that are stealing credit card applications out of the mailbox, which is a federal offense as well.
To stop the offers, you need only call one number. Call 1-888-5-opt-out. It stops pre-approved offers for 2 years.
Never give out your financial or personal information unless you initiate the telephone call.
There are a lot of information gatherers or low-tech scam artists, as I like to call them, who are out there on a day-to-day basis, trying to gather up your personal identifying information so that they can literally steal you blind.
A good way to keep telemarketers from calling you is to call register for the donotcall.gov. This will put you on the federal "Do Not Call" list, which automatically puts you on the state list as well. And, it's free!
4. Check your credit reports for fraudulent activity. In Georgia you get 2 free copies a year.
"If you do think that there's been some fraudulent activity, place fraud alerts immediately," Distasio advises.
Since she discovered that she was a victim, Distasio has moved from Atlanta to Chattanooga, Tennessee. But her problems have moved with her.
"The truth is that it doesn't leave you, it follows you, this is something that you have to deal with no matter where you live," she said.
Another area to be extremely careful with is the Internet. Do not put your personal information into cyberspace unless you are sure it's a secure site.. It should say secure server or encrypted information. Look for an "s" after the http on the address line. But whether your high-tech or low-tech, please, stay safe. |
