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Be stingy about giving out account numbers or other
financial information to people.
Keep telephone calls private and know to whom
you are speaking.
Be careful about giving personal information out over the
phone, particularly when you are talking on a cell phone
or a cordless phone. If you must do so in a public place,
be aware that people around you may be listening to your
conversation.
Be wary of giving personal information to a person or
company that contacts you (as opposed to one you
contact). Ask the person calling to give you a number you
can call to verify his/her identity, and ask the person to
send you any information they would like you to consider
in writing.
If you want to cut down on the number of sales calls
you receive, register on the national Do Not Call List by
calling 1-888-382-1222 or on-line at www.donotcall.gov.
Use the internet carefully.
Be careful about giving out personal information over the
internet. Never give out personal information over the
internet unless you are using a secure website. You may be
able to determine if a website is secure by looking at the
beginning of the web address in your browser’s address
bar—it should say https:// instead of http://
If you make purchases over the internet, use a credit or
charge card when shopping online so that you will have
the protection of the Fair Credit Billing Act.
The Fair Credit Billing Act is a federal law that provides
protection to consumers who have billing errors on openend
credit accounts. To take advantage of this protection
when there is an error on your account, you must contact
the credit card company in writing at its “Billing Inquiry”
address. Your written notification must be received by the
credit card company within 60 days from the date that
the first bill with the error was mailed to you.
“Phishing” (pronounced “fishing”) occurs when identity
thieves use fraudulent e-mails and websites, which are
designed to look like legitimate banks, retailers and credit
card companies, to obtain your personal information.
To avoid becoming a victim of phishing, be suspicious
of any unsolicited e-mails urgently requesting personal
information. The companies you do business with already
have that information.
You should never use the link provided in an e-mail to go
to a web page, instead call the company or type the web
address into your browser. Do not fill out forms over the
internet asking for your personal information unless you
know for certain the e-mail is legitimate
Protect your social security number.
Be cautious about giving out your Social Security number.
If someone asks you for it, ask him/her why the number
is needed and what will happen if you do not give out the
number, etc.
Do not carry your Social Security card in your wallet.
Store it in a safe place.
Regularly monitor your credit report.
If you find anything on your credit report that should not
be there, take action immediately.
Since June 2005, Alabama consumers are able to obtain
a free copy of their credit report from each credit bureau
once every 12 months by calling 1-877-322-8228 or
visiting www.annualcreditreport.com
The three major credit bureaus are:
Experian 1-888-397-3742
Trans Union 1-800-680-7289
Equifax 1-800-525-6285
If your identity is stolen take immediate action!
Report Fraud to all three credit bureaus.
Report theft to local law enforcement and the Federal
Trade Commission 1-877-IDTHEFT.
Immediately contact banks, credit card issuers and other
creditors.
The preceding article was adapted from the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) website.
/www.donotcall.gov
/www.annualcreditreport.com
/www.sarcoa.org