The Senior Center for Health & Security

Protect Yourself From Identity Theft

The Truth about Identity Theft:
According to DiscoverCard.com identity theft affected 27.3 million Americans in the last five years and nearly ten million in the last year. Identity theft is when anyone other than you uses your personal information, such as your social security number or credit card number, without your consent in order to personally gain at your expense. Identity theft is a criminal offense that can rob you of your money and ruin your credit.

Why Seniors are being targeted:

According to the Federal Trade Commission identity thieves are targeting states with large amounts of seniors. Arizona's Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale region saw the most cases of identity theft last year. Nevada, California and Texas closely followed Arizona as the states with the highest incidents of identity theft. Seniors are targeted because they are often thought to have more saved money and to have better credit. Also, thieves see seniors as easy prey to their tactics.

How to reduce you risk of identity theft:

• Monitor your credit report: By checking your report periodically you can easily tell if a thief is affecting your finances. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that the major credit reporting agencies provide consumers with a copy of their credit report every 12 months. You can call (877) 322-8228 or go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp to get a free credit report.
• Guard your credit cards: Only take the credit cards you need while out so there is a smaller chance they are stolen. Cancel any unused credit card accounts. Never give your credit card number over the phone unless you have investigated or highly trust the business. Do not mail credit card bills from home because they can be stolen from your mailbox. Instead, drive your bills to the post office where they will not be stolen. Remove your name from the marketing lists of the three credit reporting bureaus so that fewer pre-approved credit cards are sent out in your name.
• Copy important numbers and shred unused documents: Copy credit cards and other important documents and keep them someplace safe so if your wallet is stolen you can swiftly contact the necessary places with your numbers. Shred or rip up any documents with important numbers on them before you throw them away so that they are not stolen.
• Monitor your social security number: Few places should ask you for your social security number. Any time it is not necessary to give your social security number do not provide it.