Protect yourself from identity theft.

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world. ID theft occurs when a person assumes another person’s personal, confidential identifying information such as your name, Social Security number, date of birth, etc., in order to commit fraud.

Your personal information can be stolen in a variety of ways:
• Data breaches
• Physical loss or theft of your credit and/or debit cards
• Mail theft
• Your PIN or password being visible to others
• Scam calls
• Phishing emails
• Spyware
• Computer hacking
• Data breaches

There are simple steps you can take to protect yourself against identify theft, including:
• Monitoring your credit report.
• Removing unused credit cards and IDs from your wallet.
• Move to paperless statements and electronic billing.
• Beware of giving information to anyone over the telephone or Internet unless you initiate.
• Do not keep your PINs attached to credit, debit, or ATM cards.
• Protect your computer with a firewall and other security software and keep it updated.
• Keep your personal identifying information locked in secure locations.
• Check your credit report at least once a year to identify accounts which may have been opened without your knowledge.