Guarding against Identity Theft

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States. There are between 500,000 to 700,000 cases of identity theft each year, with losses to consumers and financial institutions in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

This information is to help protect you from becoming a victim.

• What is identity theft?
  
  
  
  
• What are "phishing" scams?
  
  
  
  
• How can I protect myself from identity theft?
  
  
  
  
• What to do if you become a victim?
  
  
  
  
• Protecting yourself while using an ATM
  
  
  
  
• Important contact information

What is identity theft?

The Federal Trade commission describes identity theft as someone using your personal information such as your name, social security number, birth date, credit card number or other identifying information without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes.

What are "phishing" scams?

Phishing scams involve the creation and use of e-mails and websites, designed to look like those of well-known legitimate businesses, financial institutions and government agencies, in order to deceive Internet users into disclosing their personal data.

The e-mails try to convince you there is an immediate need to update your personal information, such as account numbers, passwords, and user names and/or social security numbers. In most cases, the messages claim there is an account problem or warn of possible account fraud, and tell you to enter account numbers and passwords or risk the account being closed. If you receive such an e-mail, do not reply or respond by clicking on any link within the message.

Report any suspicious e-mail you receive to the Federal Trade Commission by forwarding the message to uce@ftc.gov. Remember TruMark Financial will never ask you disclose any confidential or financial details by e-mail.

How do I protect myself from identity theft?

There are a number of ways to lower your risk of becoming an identity theft victim:

• Shred documents such as credit card receipts, copies of credit applications, credit union statements, or any other forms containing personal information.
• Don't carry your Social Security card and only give out your Social Security number when absolutely necessary.
• Order a copy of your credit report at least once a year and report any suspicious activity immediately.
• Before revealing personal information, find out how it will be used and whether it will be shared with others. Watch for people who may try to overhear the information you relay verbally.
• Pay attention to your billing cycles. Contact your creditors immediately if your bill does not show up on time.
• Remove address from mail solicitation lists
  
  
  
  Mail Preference Service   
  
  
  
  Attn: Dept. 12794780  
  
  
  
  P.O. Box 282  
  
  
  
  Carmel, NY 10512
• Remove name from pre-approval credit offers by calling 888-567-8688.

What to do if you become a victim

If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, take the following steps immediately:

• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission through its toll-free Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338) or online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
• Contact the fraud department of any one of the three major credit reporting agencies and place a "fraud alert" on your credit file. The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts.
• Close the account(s) you believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
• Go to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/affidavit.pdf and print the "ID Theft Affidavit." You will be required to complete the information. You only need to complete it once and should keep the original.
• File a police report and get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors.
• Add an additional password to your existing accounts.

Important contact information

Reporting identity theft



Federal Trade Commission



1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338)



www.consumer.gov/idtheft

Free Annual Credit Report

Annual Credit Report Request Services



P.O. Box 105283



Atlanta, GA  30348-5283



877-322-8228



www.annualcreditreport.com

Credit Reporting Agencies

Equifax



1-800-685-1111



www.equifax.com

Experian



1-888-EXPERIAN



www.experian.com

TransUnion



1-800-888-4213



www.transunion.com

Other agencies

Social Security fraud hotline



1-800-269-0271

U.S. Postal Inspection Services

www.usps.gov/postalinspectors

TruMark Financial Credit Union

Fraud/Security Dept.



1-877-TRUMARK