You can minimize the risk of identity theft!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 29, 2007 -- The Federal Trade Commission logged more than 250,000 complaints of identity theft in 2005, up about 3 percent from 2004. The identities of 9 million Americans are stolen each year, accounting for $56 billion in losses.

Be on guard. This is the time of year people are most at risk for being hit; the heavy holiday retail season continues through January, while tax-preparation time provides added opportunities for identity theft.

The problem is so severe that President Bush last May established the Identity Theft Task Force, co-chaired by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and FTC Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras.

The task force is charged with improving the ability of the government and private sector to bring identity thieves to justice, to reduce the risk of theft and to help theft victims recover. Now, only 1 in 700 cases is prosecuted.

The best tactic is to avoid being a target in the first place.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the best offense is something as simple as a paper shredder. Receipts, papers with credit card account and Social Security numbers (such as health-benefit-payment and income-reporting forms and loan documents) should be shredded.

Tax paperwork should be kept in a safe, locked location. And make sure to have updated firewall software to protect your computer from invasion, since many taxpayers file online.

STEPS TO TAKE

• Don’t give out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or on the Internet unless you initiated the contact or are sure you know who you’re dealing with. Clever identity thieves pose as representatives of banks, Internet service providers and even government agencies to get people to reveal a Social Security number, mother’s maiden name, account numbers and other identifying information.

• Treat your mail and trash carefully. Deposit outgoing mail in post office collection boxes or at a local post office, rather than in an unsecured mailbox. Promptly remove mail from your mailbox.

• To thwart an identity thief who may pick through your trash or recycling bins to capture personal information, tear or shred charge receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, physician statements, checks and bank statements, expired charge cards that you’re discarding and credit offers you get in the mail.

• Don’t carry your Social Security card. Leave it in a secure place. Give your SSN only when absolutely necessary, and ask to use other types of identifiers. If your state uses your SSN as your driver’s license number, ask to substitute another number. Do the same if your health insurance company uses your SSN as your policy number.

• Carry only the identification information and the credit and debit cards that you’ll actually need when you go out.

• Keep your purse or wallet in a safe place at work; do the same with copies of administrative forms that have your sensitive personal information.

• When ordering new checks, pick them up from the bank instead of having them mailed to your home.

Source: http://www.delawareonline.com/

More information can be found online at http://www.downloadatoz.com/spycop-counter-surveillance-scanner/

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