Easy tips on preventing identity theft

By Carol Higgins Taylor

    You would probably know fairly quickly if your wallet, purse, or car had been stolen. Upon walking into your house you could probably tell immediately if it had been burglarized.
    But how would you know if your identity had been filched and was being used by criminals?

    Identity theft is the number one form of fraud in Maine. Nothing is truly local anymore as the invention of the Internet has taken even the smallest town global.
    So, just how does identity theft occur?
    The methods are numerous but sadly usually share the same outcome. High credit scores that were years in the making can plummet due to identity theft and people’s financial lives are left in ruin.
    Some thieves obtain your personal information by rummaging through the trash looking for receipts (so shred important papers), stealing mail such as credit card offers and filling them out in your name and then running up high bills before you are even aware of it, or posing as a legitimate business person or government official on the phone.
    Remember: neither your bank nor Social Security will ever call you and ask for your personal information because if they are legitimate, they will already have it. 
    Once a crook has your personal information in hand and new credit cards have been issued — and the bills for which have been routed to a different address so you will never see them — the shopping and cash advances begin.
    There are several ways to tell if you are a victim of identity theft, including being denied credit unexpectedly, calls from debt collectors and companies with whom you do not do business and a reduction of mail received which could indicate that someone has filed a change of address on you.
    There are steps you can take to protect yourself.
    Contact your creditors if your bill does not arrive in your mailbox on time. It could signal that someone has hijacked your account and has changed the billing address. Of course, the perpetrator is not going to actually pay the bill.
    Conceal personal information in your home, especially if you have lots of company or workers. You just never know for whom the temptation would be too much.
    Memorize passwords and PIN numbers. Use your debit card as a credit card. The money still comes directly out of your account but you won’t need to enter your PIN number into the swipe machine. Also, get creative with passwords and don’t rely on maiden names and birthdays.
    Get a copy of your credit report from one of the three credit bureaus and check it for errors. If you’d like a list of the bureaus and their phone numbers, call your bank and ask that they send you one. In Maine, people can receive one free credit report per year so be careful of companies that attempt to charge you for your report. For more information, you can go to the Consumer Credit Protection page on the Maine.gov website. There is also a six-page booklet titled Consumer Guide to Credit Reports that is available for download.
    If you find inaccuracies in your credit report, act immediately. Contact the credit bureau.
    As always, do not give out personal information over the phone or internet unless you are certain of how it will be used.
    Beat these thieves at their own game by staying informed on the latest scams, being careful, diligent, and notifying the authorities immediately if you think you have been defrauded. Even if you are unsure, call the police anyway.
    It is better to alert them early than to wait and have an even bigger mess on your hands.   
    Carol Higgins Taylor is an advocate for seniors and owns a public relations firm in Bangor.  Contact her via email at 4chtaylor@gmail.com.