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Common Practices of Identity Thieves
- Pose as a legitimate company or government agency and request personal information
via phone (“vishing”), email (“phishing”), or text message (“smishing”)
- Hack into your computer or the computer of a company that does business with you.
- Misrepresent themselves to a company that does business with you or otherwise has information about you (e.g. access your credit report by posing as a landlord)
- Search through the trash or recycling bin for documents containing financial or personal information
- Divert your mail to another location by filling out a change of address form
- Steal statements or other mail containing personal information from your mailbox
- Steal your wallet or electronic device
What an Identity Thief Can Do
After an identity thief has your personal information, he or she may use it in a variety of illegal ways.
Common practices include:
- Making charges on an existing credit card account. While some retailers check your
identification when you pay with plastic, it is often not done – all the thief needs to do is forge
your signature. It is even easier for him or her to use your account when making telephone or
online purchases.
- Opening a new credit card account. Once a thief has your personal information, he or she
can open an account in your name, but have the card and bills routed to him or her. The thief
makes purchases, but the bill never arrives at your home. (And of course, the thief doesn’t pay
it). You may not find about the crime until a collector tracks you down, you apply for credit and
are denied, or you pull a copy of your credit report and you see the activity.
- Taking out a loan to buy a car or other expensive items. As with credit cards, you often
won't know of the activity until you experience some type of negative credit or collection action.
- Using an existing checking account. The thief may write fraudulent checks or use your debit card. Having the PIN makes it easy to take cash out of the ATM, but even without it, he or she can still
make purchases in a store by choosing the “credit” option online and over the phone.
- Obtaining government benefits or using your health insurance. The thief may apply for
such things as Social Security benefits or foods stamps with your identity or pretend to be you
and provide your insurance information to pay for medical care.
How to Stop Identity Theft
- Review Your Credit Report
You should check your credit reports for fraudulent activity at least annually. You can receive one
free copy of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and
TransUnion, once year through the Annual Credit Report Request Service. You can obtain all three reports at once or stagger your requests throughout the year. If you believe you were a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to additional free reports. (Contact the credit bureaus directly for this.) If you are not currently eligible for free reports, you can purchase them from the credit bureaus for a fee.
When you obtain your reports, look over them carefully for balances that do not seem correct, accounts you never opened, or anything else that seems suspicious. Dispute inaccurate information
with the bureaus immediately, and contact the involved creditors.
- Guard Your Personal Information
When someone asks you for your information, never hesitate to ask questions or say no if you are uncomfortable. You should only provide personal data when you know how will be used, you are sure the person or company is legitimate, and you are the one who initiated contact.
- Check Your Statements
Know your billing cycles, and be sure to review your statements for credit cards, utilities, checking
and savings accounts, and other accounts when they are issued. If you see any charges you did not authorize, contact the company immediately. Also contact them if you don’t receive your statement when you are supposed to.
- Minimize and Protect Your Mail
Try to reduce the amount of mail you receive containing sensitive information. Many credit card companies, banks, credit unions, utility providers, and other institutions allow you to elect to receive electronic statements only. Since you may not be able to completely stop the flow of mail containing personal information, be sure to empty your mailbox promptly and not let it sit there for a day or two. If you are going on vacation and there is no one available to pick up your mail, you can request a vacation hold with the post office.
- Avoid a False Sense of Security
It is easy to have a sense of security in your home, work, place of worship, or other familiar spot,
but keep in mind that many people are victimized by someone they know. (And of course, there
may be strangers passing through as well.) Never leave your wallet, statements, or portable electronic devices out in plain sight.
- Only Carry With You What You Need
If your wallet or bag is stolen, the less you have in it, the less information the thief has. There is almost never a need to carry your Social Security card with you. Most people don’t need to lug around their checkbook either.
- Dispose Carefully
If you are disposing of a statement or something else containing personal information, shred it –
don’t just don’t throw it in the trash. Do the same for pre-approval offers. Better yet, opt out
of receiving them.
- Protect Your Computer and Smartphone
Use a firewall and anti-virus/anti-spyware software to reduce your computer’s vulnerability to hackers. Make all passwords hard to guess by using a complex combination of numbers and upper and lower case letters. Log off when you leave the room, and don’t leave portable devices unattended. Before disposing of your computer or smartphone, be sure to delete personal information using a "wipe" utility program to overwrite the entire hard drive. When shopping online, use a secure browser - enter personal and financial information only when there is a "lock" icon on the browser's status bar and look for the URL to read "https" versus "http." Don’t send sensitive personal information via e-mail or download files or open hyperlinks sent by
people you don't know.
- Protect Your Computer and Smartphone
We care about making banking convenient for you. We also care about making it safe. So, please
keep the following tips in mind each time you use an ATM. Common sense is your best safety guide. Trust your eyes, ears, and instincts and use ATMs only where you feel safe and comfortable.
- Bring a friend if you use an ATM at night. And, choose an ATM that is well lit and monitored
with a surveillance camera.Have your card ready. Also, fill out your deposit slip and put your
cash and checks in a sealed deposit envelope before you reach the ATM.
- After a withdrawal, be sure to put away your money, receipt, card, and wallet before leaving
the ATM.
- Wait until you are at home or in secure surrounding to count your cash.
- Memorize your PIN and keep it a secret. Never write it on your card or leave it in your wallet. When entering your PIN, stand between the machine and the person behind you to keep it private. If you feel someone is looking over your shoulder, cancel the transaction and leave immediately.
- Guard your card. If it is lost or stolen-or if any suspicious or unauthorized ATM transactions appear on your monthly statements-notify us as soon as possible. Be aware of your surroundings. When you are in a vestibule, close the entry door completely upon entering and exiting-and don't offer entry to strangers. At a drive-up, keep your engine running, lock all your doors, and open only the driver's window. If you're walking to an ATM, stay alert and don't linger at the machine.
- Consider Extra Protection – Carefully
If you are exceptionally concerned about the possibility of identity theft, you may consider paying
for credit monitoring or identity theft insurance – but do so only after carefully reading the fine print
and weighing the cost against the benefits. Some of the businesses that offer these services are a
scam themselves. Research the company's history and check the Better Business Bureau's complaint
log before signing up.
- Credit monitoring. A credit monitoring service typically provides regular credit report updates about new inquiries, new accounts, late payments, sudden changes in your credit card balances, and other potentially suspicious activity. You may also be able to access your credit report whenever you want at no additional cost.
- Identity theft insurance. If you become victimized by identity theft, this type of insurance reimburses you for the out-of-pocket expenses incurred to clean it up (but not the money that was stolen) and helps you through the process of contacting creditors, writing affidavits, and
filing reports. Check out our IdentitySecure program.
References
OnGuardOnline – Practical tips from the federal government and the technology industry to help you be on guard against internet fraud, secure your computer, and protect your personal information.
Massachusetts Department of Justice – File a complaint with Massachusett’s Attorney General’s office if you think you may be a victim of fraud.
FBI – Fraud crime prevention information
Internet Crime Complaint Center – Partnered with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center.
Credit Bureaus
It is important to check credit reports on a yearly basis from each of the three major
credit bureaus:
Equifax - www.equifax.com or 1-800-685-1111
Experian - www.experian.com or 1-888-397-3742
TransUnion - www.transunion.com or 1-800-888-4213
Protecting your Debit Card against Fraudulent Transactions
Workers' Credit Union is committed to doing what’s right for you by making certain that your debit card and account remain secure and uncompromised. Due to fraudulent transactions occurring in the United States and internationally, your Workers’ Credit Union debit card may be temporarily blocked for use in certain states and/or locations or limited types of transactions. Click here to view the most current list of blocked locations and transaction types, to assure that your Workers’ Credit Union debit card will be accepted wherever you go. New locations or transaction types may be blocked without previous notification by Workers’ Credit Union, so we encourage you to revisit this list or call our Member Information Center at 978-345-1021 or 800-221-4020 for the most current list.
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