1. Protecting Your Identity:
What to Know, What to Do
Ed Olander AFC®
Fleet & Family Support Center
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.
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.

2. 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.

3. Reduce Your Risk Get your free credit report annually:
Read bank statements & Explanation of Medical benefits.
Secure your Social Security Number.
Respond quickly to notices from the IRS
IRS’s Specialized Identity Theft Protection Unit
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
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.
Social Security Number:
If someone asks for it, ask:
Why do you need it?
How will it be used?
How do you protect it?

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. If your identity is stolen…
STEP 1: Place an initial fraud alert on your credit report and get a free copy of your 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

8. If your identity is stolen…
Step 2: 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.

9. Summary Be alert to the warning signs of ID theft.
Reduce risk online, on the phone, on paper.
Report ID theft IMMEDIATELY.

10. Fleet & Family Support Center
Contact Information
Ed Olander AFC®
Fleet & Family Support Center
FFSC Appointments