Guard Your Identity as You Would Any Other Valuable Asset

How can someone steal your identity? Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information such as your name, Social Security number, credit card number or other identifying information, without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes.

As you may be aware, identity theft is a growing problem that’s affecting more and more people everyday. You can be assured that the financial services industry takes this offense very seriously and goes to great lengths at all levels to guard against fraud. Strict regulatory standards are in place to protect the personal financial information of investors like you from falling into the wrong hands.

Are You a Victim of Identity Theft?
Have you had something like this happen?

• You get a phone call or letter telling you that you have been approved or denied credit for accounts that you never requested.
• You no longer receive your credit card statements, or you notice that some of your mail seems to be missing.
• Your credit card statement includes charges for things you know you never bought.
• A collection agency tells you they are collecting for an account you never opened.

If you notice anything like this, it's possible you've become a victim of identity theft. But what if nothing is obviously wrong? How can you be sure you're not a victim? The FTC says that the average victim of identity theft is unaware of the problem for 12 months. You don't want to let 12 months go by before finding that you're a victim. When anyone applies for credit in your name, it will show up in your credit report. With the costly crime of identity theft on the upswing across the U.S., it pays to take some simple precautions to reduce thieves’ access to your personal data.

• Don’t give out your Social Security number.
• Don’t carry extra credit cards or checks in your purse or wallet.
• Ignore all unsolicited phone calls, mail and emails seeking pertinent personal data like your bank or brokerage account information, passwords or PINs.
• Shred any information that a thief could use to establish an identity in your name.
• Check your credit report annually for errors. Soon you’ll be able to get your credit reports for free. For more information, go online to www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free 877-322-8228.

For more suggestions on preventing identity theft, visit the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) website at www.consumer.gov/idtheft/protect_againstidt.html.