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Facts for Consumers Using Credit Cards

SKILLED IDENTITY

THIEVES USE A VARIETY OF

METHODS TO GAIN

ACCESS TO YOUR

PERSONAL INFORMATION.

FOR EXAMPLE, THEY MAY

GET INFORMATION FROM

BUSINESSES OR OTHER INSTITUTIONS BY:

•Stealing records or information while they’re

on the job. Bribing an employee who has

access to these records.

•Hacking these records.

•Conning information out of employees.

•Rummaging through your trash, the trash of

businesses, or public trash dumps in a practice

known as “dumpster diving.”Getting your

credit reports by abusing their employer’s

authorized access to them, or by posing as a

landlord, employer, or someone else who may

have a legal right to access your report.

Identity thieves also may get

your information by:

•Stealing your credit or debit card

numbers by capturing the information in a

data storage device in a practice known

as“skimming.” They may swipe your card for

an actual purchase, or attach the device to an

ATM machine where you may enter or swipe

your card.

•Stealing wallets and purses containing

identification and credit and bankcards.

•Stealing mail, including bank and credit card

statements, new checks, or tax information.

•Completing a “change of address form” to

divert your mail to another location.

•Stealing personal information from your

home.

•Scamming information from you by posing as

a legitimate business person or government

official.

How Identity Thieves Use Your

Information

ONCE IDENTITY THIEVES HAVE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION,

THEY MAY:

•Go on spending sprees using your credit and

debit card account numbers to buy “big-ticket”

items like computers that they can easily sell.

•Open a new credit card account, using your

name, date of birth, and Social Security

number. When they don’t pay the bills, the

delinquent account is reported on your credit

report.

•Change the mailing address on your credit

card account. The imposter then runs up

charges on the account. Because the bills are

being sent to the new address, it may take

some time before you realize there’s a

problem.

•Take out auto loans in your name.

•Establish phone or wireless service in your

name.

•Counterfeit checks or debit cards, and drain

your bank account.

•Open a bank account in your name and write

bad checks on that account.

•File for bankruptcy under your name to avoid

paying debts they’ve incurred, or to avoid

eviction.

•Give your name to the police during an

arrest. If they are released and don’t show up

for their court date, an arrest warrant could be

issued in your name.

For more information, see ID Theft: What It’s

All About at ftc.gov/idtheft.

DETER: How to Minimize Your

Risk of Identity Theft

•Before you reveal any personally identifying information,

find out how it will be used, whether it will be

shared, and with whom.

•Pay attention to your billing cycles. Follow up with

creditors if your bills don’t arrive on time.

•Guard your mail from theft. Deposit outgoing mail in

post office collection boxes or at your local post office.

Remove mail from your mailbox as soon after it has been

delivered as you can. If you’re planning to be away from

home and can’t pick up your mail, call the U.S. Postal

Service toll-free at 1-800-275-8777, or visit

www.usps.gov to ask for a vacation hold.

•When possible, put passwords on your credit card,

bank and phone accounts. Avoid using easily available

information like your mother’s maiden name, your birth

date, the last four digits of your Social Security number or

telephone number, or a series of consecutive numbers. It’s

a good idea to keep a list of your credit card issuers and

their telephone numbers in a safe place.

•Don’t give out personal information on the telephone,

through the mail, or over the Internet unless you’ve

initiated the contact or know whom you’re dealing with.

•Protect any personal information in your home. For

example, tear or shred documents like charge receipts,

copies of credit offers and applications, insurance forms,

doctor’s statements, discarded bank checks and statements,

and expired credit cards before you throw them

away. Be cautious about leaving personal information in

plain view, especially if you have roommates, hire

outside help, or are having service work done. Find out

who has access to your personal information at work or

at school, and verify that the records are kept in a secure

location.

•Never carry your Social Security card; leave it in a

secure place at home. Give out your Social Security

number only when you are convinced it is absolutely

necessary.

•Order your credit report from each of the three

nationwide consumer reporting companies every year to

make sure it is accurate and includes only those activities

you’ve authorized.

•Carry only the identification that you actually need. Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information to commit fraud. When an imposter co-opts your name, your Social

Security number, your credit card number, or some other piece of your personal information for their use – in short, when someone

appropriates your personal information without your knowledge – it’s a crime.

The biggest problem? You may not know your identity’s been stolen until you notice that something’s amiss: you may get bills for a credit card

account you never opened; your credit report may include debts you never knew you had; a billing cycle may pass without your receiving a

statement; or you may see charges on your bills that you didn’t sign for, didn’t authorize, and don’t know anything about.

Bankruptcy Basics - For Cases Filed on or after October 17, 2005 (pdf)
Bankruptcy Basics - For Cases Filed before October 17, 2005 (pdf)

   

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