ShareThisEach year some 10 million Americans are victims of identity theft. Though the amount of damage can vary widely, the crime can haunt victims for years.
But there are several steps consumers can take to protect themselves. Many are common sense precautions, and all are based on the idea of being careful about your information.
Here are tips on preventing or catching identity theft collected from federal officials, national experts, identity theft recovery services groups and victims.
-- Review monthly financial statements. Taking the time to look over monthly financial statements from credit cards, checking accounts or any other account can alert you to anything amiss. This could tip you off to identity theft long before an unpaid account hits your credit score.
-- Check your credit reports every year. Under federal law, you are entitled each year to see your three credit files, which are held by credit bureaus Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.
The free reports can be requested at www.annualcreditreport.com. Instead of checking all three reports at once, you can choose to access the reports individually every four months. That way you will cycle through all three reports over the course of the year.
-- Check your earnings statements. If someone -- say, an illegal immigrant -- uses your name to get a job and report wages, it should appear in your annual earnings statement from the U.S. Social Security Administration. Reviewing this document can help red-flag labor-related ID theft.
-- Be wary of tax-filing services. Tax-refund identity theft is on the rise. Remember that the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers through e-mail. If you receive an e-mail purportedly from the IRS -- or a company that says it's endorsed by the IRS -- and it claims you have a refund waiting for you, it is probably a scam.
-- Guard sensitive documents. Be mindful of documents that might be used to access a financial account or access to credit. Sensitive documents include credit card offers, Social Security information, driver's license information and medical information. Keep documents locked in a secure place. Dispose carefully of anything you don't need. Consider shredding waste.
-- Computer security. Strengthen your online passwords. Make sure your computer's antivirus software is up to date. Be careful about online phishing, where a fraudster sends a legitimate looking e-mail meant to steal access to your personal or financial records. Do not click on links in unfamiliar e-mails you get, spam in particular. Go to the website you know is the accurate one for the company.
-- Clean your wallet. Try not to carry extra credit cards or other sensitive documents on a daily basis unless you really need them.
-- Watch out for scams. They can take many forms, especially by telephone, e-mail or through classified listing sites like Craigslist. If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.
-- Get a copy of your health care file. In case you are ever the victim of medical identity theft -- i.e., someone gets medical attention in your name and on your dime -- you can use your real health care records to help prove that you are a victim.
For interactive map with breakdown of types of identity theft nationwide by ZIP code, go to: http://scrippsnews.com/content/map-identity-theft-complaints-zip-code
(E-mail Scripps Howard News Service reporter Isaac Wolf at wolfi(at)shns.com)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
