| In the past two weeks, I have read three different | | | | protection yourself: |
| articles on identity theft in various ways. The VA had | | | | 1. Take the copies and the excess paper with you. |
| a data leak after an analyst took home a laptop with | | | | 2. Ask the clerk to return your card as soon as they |
| electron data containing names, Social Security | | | | are finished swiping it. |
| numbers and dates of birth of 26.5 million veterans. | | | | 3. Destroy all outdated and cancelled credit cards. |
| This is certainly enough information for identity thieves | | | | 4. Don't use pin numbers in public areas. |
| to obtain new accounts using stolen data. | | | | 5. If you are using an ATM be careful no one can see |
| A 45 year old woman in Egg Harbor Township, New | | | | what you put into the machine. |
| Jersey got a call from her credit card company asking | | | | 6. Obtain your free annual credit reports at various |
| if she purchased thousands of dollars on Ebay using | | | | times during the year and check the information |
| her credit cards. Fortunately, the credit card company | | | | carefully. |
| caught this activity in time before she could have | | | | 7. Don't give out personal information over the phone, |
| serious problems straightening out her credit. | | | | thru the mail or over the Internet unless you started the |
| Credit card fraud and identity theft are on the rise in | | | | action. |
| the nation. You need to take steps to protect your | | | | 8. No one should call you on the phone and ask any |
| information. Checking your credit card statements | | | | personal information including the phone company, |
| regularly will turn up problems immediately. The pattern | | | | credit card companies, your lenders etc. |
| of abuse seems to be toward charging smaller | | | | 9. Don't ever give out your Social Security number. |
| amounts on credit cards, not necessarily maxing out | | | | 10. Be alert when using your personal information in |
| the card. This makes detection harder at the point of | | | | any form. |
| sale. | | | | A little care now will go a long way toward protecting |
| Take care when using your cards. Steps to take to | | | | valuable information and your credit rating. |