2. Protecting Your Identity:
What to Know, What to Do
First Name, Last Name
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, El Paso Branch]
Good morning/afternoon/evening:
Thank you for joining us today.
I want to talk to you about how we can reduce our risk of a problem . I’m talking about identity theft. ID theft has that has affected millions of people. But there are things we can do to protect ourselves.
The views expressed in this presentation are strictly those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas or of the Federal Reserve System.

3. Overview Identity protection Protection from what?
Warning signs of identity theft
How you can reduce your risk
Identity protection is a 21st century practice that can become a habit. Today we’re going to talk about and how we can make protecting our personal information a priority, and part of our regular routines.
First, let’s talk about identity theft, what it is and the warning signs to look for.

4. What is identity theft? Identity theft:
Someone steals your personal information
Uses it without permission
Can damage your finances, credit history and reputation
Identity thieves can cause a lot of damage – and cost you time, money, and patience to repair.
Identity theft happens when someone steals your personal information and uses it without permission.
Thieves can run up your credit accounts, get new credit cards, medical treatment or a job – all in your name.

5. Warning Signs How do you know if your identity was stolen?
mistakes on accounts or your Explanation of Medical benefits
regular bills go missing
calls from debt collectors for debts that aren’t yours
notice from the IRS
calls or mail about accounts in your minor child’s name

6. How does identity theft happen?
Identity thieves will:
steal information from trash or from a business
trick you into revealing information
take your wallet or purse
pretend to offer a job, loan, or apartment to get your information

7. Reduce Your Risk
Identity protection means treating your personal information with care.
Make it a habit.
like buckling your seatbelt, or
locking your doors at night
Even if your identity hasn’t been stolen, you can do things to reduce your risk.
Make it part of your routine to monitor your accounts.
It can become a habit like buckling your seatbelt or locking your doors at night.
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(VIDEO OPTION: If speaker chooses to include the video, What is Identity Theft? In the presentation.)
Let’s look at a short video.

8. Reduce Your Risk How does identity theft happen?
Your right to a free credit report every 12 months
To order:
annualcreditreport.com
Read your credit reports. You have a right to a free credit report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies.
Stagger your requests so that you order one report every four months.
To order, go to annualcreditreport.com or call

9. Reduce Your Risk
Read your bank, credit and account statements, and Explanation of Medical benefits.
Look for charges you didn’t make.
Be alert for bills that don’t arrive when you expect them.
Follow up if you get account statements you don’t expect.

10. Reduce Your Risk
Respond quickly to notices from the Internal Revenue Service.
If someone has used your Social Security number on a tax return, contact IRS’s Specialized Identity Theft Protection Unit

11. Reduce Your Risk Secure your Social Security Number.
If someone asks for it, ask:
Why do you need it?
How will it be used?
How do you protect it?

12. Reduce Your Risk Protect Your Personal Information.
Keep your important papers secure.
Be careful with your mail.
Shred sensitive documents.
Don’t overshare on social networking sites.
Protect your personal information. Keep your important papers secure. Lock up your financial documents and records in a safe place at home – and lock up your wallet or purse at work.
Limit what you carry. Take only the identification, credit and debit cards that you need.
Be careful with your mail. Take outgoing mail to the post office collection boxes or the post office. Remember to remove mail that arrives in your mailbox. If you’re going to be away for several days, ask for a vacation hold on your mail. To do that, go to your local post office or visit
Shred receipts, credit offers or applications, insurance forms, physician statements, check or bank statements and other similar documents. Destroy labels on prescription bottles before you throw them out.
Don’t overshare. If you post too much information about yourself on social networking sites, and identity thief can find out information about your life, use it to answer challenge questions on your accounts and get access to your money and personal information. Never post your full name, Social Security number, address, phone number or account numbers in publicly accessible places. Consider limiting access to your networking page to a small group of people.

13. Reduce Your Risk Be alert to online impersonators.
Do you know who is getting your personal information?
Don’t click on links in s.
Contact customer service.
Be alert to online impersonators. Be sure you know who is getting your personal or financial information online.
If a company that claims to have an account with you sends asking for personal information, don’t click on links in the .
Instead, type the company name into your web browser, go to their site, and contact them through
customer service.
Or, call the customer service number listed on your account statement. Ask whether the company really sent a request.

14. Reduce Your Risk Protect your computer.
Use anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, and a firewall.
Create strong passwords.
Keep your computer’s operating system, browser, and security up to date.
Create strong passwords that mix 10 or more letters, numbers and special characters. Don’t use the same password for more than one account.
Use anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, and a firewall on your computer. Protect against intrusions and infections that can compromise your computer files or passwords by installing security patches for your operating system and other software.
Set your computer’s operating system, web browser, and security system to update automatically.

15. Reduce Your Risk Protect your computer. Encrypt your data.
Be wise about wi-fi.
Encrypt your data. Keep your browser secure. Use encryption software that scramble information you send over the Internet. A “lock” icon on your browser’s status bar means your information will be safe when it’s transmitted.
Be wise about wi-fi. Public wireless networks are in a coffee shop, library, hotel or other public place. Before you use a public wi-fi network, see if your information will be protected. If you use an encrypted website, it protects only the information you send to and from that site. If you use a secure wireless network, all the information you send on that network is protected.

16. Reduce Your Risk Protect your computer. Lock up your laptop.
Read privacy policies.
Keep your laptop safe. Keep financial information on your laptop only when necessary. Don’t use an automatic login feature that saves your user name and password, and always log off when you’re finished. If your laptop is stolen, it’ll make it harder for the thief to get your personal information.
Read privacy policies. Yes, they’re long and complex but they tell you how the site maintains accuracy, access, security, and control of the personal information it collects, how it uses the information, and whether it provides it to third parties. If you don’t see a privacy policy, consider doing business elsewhere.

17. [If the presenter would like to address recovering from identity theft, leave slides 17 to 20 here. If not, go directly to slide 22.]
Delete this slide before presenting!

18. What to do if someone has stolen your identity?
Act fast to limit the damage.
Take these steps immediately.
Acting fast is the best way to limit the damage caused by an identity thief.
VIDEO OPTION: (show What To Do If You’re A Victim of Identity Theft)
I’d like to show you this brief video.

19. If your identity is stolen…
STEP 1: Place an initial fraud alert on your credit report.
Contact any one of the three nationwide credit reporting companies.
Equifax 1‑800‑525‑6285
Experian 1‑888‑397‑3742
TransUnion 1‑800‑680‑7289
If Your Identity is Stolen...
Flag Your Credit Reports
Call one of the nationwide credit reporting companies, and ask for a fraud alert on your credit report. The company you call must contact the other two so they can put fraud alerts on your files. An initial fraud alert is good for 90 days.
Equifax 1‑800‑525‑6285
Experian 1‑888‑397‑3742
TransUnion 1‑800‑680‑7289

20. If your identity is stolen…
Step 2: Order your credit reports.
Contact each of the three credit reporting companies.
ID theft victims get a copy of their reports for free.
Read your reports carefully and correct any errors.
Order Your Credit Reports
Each company’s credit report about you is slightly different, so order a report from each company. When you order, you must answer some questions to prove your identity. Read your reports carefully to see if the information is correct. If you see mistakes or signs of fraud, contact the credit reporting company.

21. If your identity is stolen…
Step 3: Create an Identity Theft Report.
Gives you rights that help you to recover more quickly.
File a complaint with the FTC.
Ftc.gov/complaint or
This will become your FTC Affidavit.
File a police report.
Create an Identity Theft Report
An Identity Theft Report can help you get fraudulent information removed from your credit report, stop a company from collecting debts caused by identity theft, and get information about accounts a thief opened in your name. To create an Identity Theft Report:
• file a complaint with the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint or ; TTY: Your completed complaint is called an FTC Affidavit.
• take your FTC Affidavit to your local police, or to the police where the theft occurred, and file a police report. Get a copy of the police report.
The two documents comprise an Identity Theft Report.

22. Your FTC Affidavit and police report make an Identity Theft Report.

23. Contact the FTC File an identity theft complaint with the FTC:
ftc.gov/complaint
1-877-ID-THEFT
Learn more identity theft:
ftc.gov/idtheft
Order free materials:
bulkorder.ftc.gov
Thanks for your time and attention. I hope you’ve picked up some tips on how to reduce your risk of identity theft. [If recovery from IDT is discussed: And learned what you should do immediately if your identity is stolen.]
I’m distributing the handouts now. (Copies of Identity Theft: What to Know, What to Do)
Does anyone have questions? I’ll try to answer them but you can always go to the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency. They can be reached at this contact information.