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Home > Support
Privacy & Identity Theft FAQ's
Many people are concerned about protecting their
privacy and preventing identity theft. Here are some resources and ideas for
you.
I'm not sure if my identity has been stolen. How do I
find out?
Is it safe to use my credit card on the internet?
What is phishing and how do I recognize it?
How do I eliminate junk mail and telemarketing phone calls?
 . I'm not
sure if my identity has been stolen. How do I find out if someone has gotten
credit in my name?
 . Federal law now requires that the three
main credit reporting agencies make your credit report available for free
once a year without you having any particular reason for concern. They must also
make it available if you have reason to believe that your identity has been
stolen. You may get your credit report from any of the credit bureaus by going
to
AnnualCreditReport.com. If you do a web search for free credit report you
will get a huge number of results, most of which are really designed to sign you
up for a credit reporting plan that will charge you every month. The site above
is government sanctioned and has no paid plan attached.
Additional information on identity theft is available at the
FTC's consumer ID theft page.
. Is it safe to
use my credit card on the internet?
. Yes, but with a few cautions. Most
web sites that collect credit card information use encrypted transmissions. This
means that your credit card information is encrypted on your machine and
decrypted on their server. Anyone in between is unable to read the information.
If the site you are on uses encryption you will see a small lock or key in the
lower right hand corner of your browser. Make sure that symbol is present and
that the lock is closed.
All of the credit card companies see Internet commerce as very important to
their future so they include protection for you. All of them limit your
liability for unauthorized charges to $50.00 and most of them don't even charge
you that.
The one area you have no control over is a vendor's web site being hacked and
your credit information being stolen. While this is rare, it has happened. Many
of the sites that have been hacked don't just have customer information from the
internet but from mail and phone transactions as well so not using the internet
for your purchases may not protect you.
If you think making a phone purchase is safer you could be wrong. If you are
using a cell phone or wireless phone your call can be intercepted, and even
landlines can be tapped.
. What is
phishing and how do I recognize it?
. Phishing is a term for attempts to get
you to give someone your personal data. It is most commonly done as an e-mail
purportedly form your bank or some other entity that you have a financial
relationship with. It usually says something about a need to update your
information for some plausible sounding reason and often threatens to close your
account if you don't update. It then directs you to a website which looks just
like your bank or other company website but isn't. You are requested to supply
your account number, password, social security number, address and other
personal information.
How to protect yourself.
Never go to a financial institutions website from an e-mail link. Open your
browser and type in the address yourself.
Your bank etc. will never ask for that information on their website. They
already have it. Other than asking for your username and password when you sign
in they will never ask for your password.
When in doubt contact the company and ask if they have sent you such a message.
Most all financial sites have a way to report attempts to steal your
information. The sooner they detect an attempt the sooner they can react. Most
of the bogus websites can be shut down quickly once the institution is aware of
them.
. How do I
eliminate junk mail and telemarketing phone calls?
. To get off the list for (some) junk
mail you can register with the Direct Marketing Association, You can find more
information on how to do so at
http://dmaconsumers.org/
To be removed from the direct marketing phone call list go to the
governments do not call website and register at
https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx.
While these will limit the junk mail and telemarketing calls they will not
eliminate them entirely.
Unfortunately there is no such list for junk e-mail. For information on junk
e-mail check the page e-mail.
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