11 Steps for Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft

This last weekend Congresswomen Melissa Bean hosted a forum on Identity Theft at the Round Lake Village Hall. The event was held with about 50 attendees, and quite frankly gave me some room for increasing the day to day paranoia that your friendly neighborhood mayor operates in! Like I need more of that. The speakers (picture at left) were quite informative and left the audience with a lot of good ideas on how to protect yourself. Her office graciously provided me with a list of the 11 steps to protect you from Identity Theft.

1. Do not give out personal information to unsolicited internet sources.
2. Always use up-to-date anti-virus and firewall software.
3. Never give out personal data over the phone—sign up for the Do Not Call Registry at www.donotcall.gov to protect yourself from scammers and telemarketers.
4. Keep sensitive documents in a safe location and out of plain sight.
5. Take all outgoing mail to a secure mailbox, if youÂ’re able to.
6. Shred any sensitive material that goes into the trash can.
7. Limit the number of cards that you carry in your wallet.
8. Restrict the use and distribution of your Social Security number as much as possible.
9. Carefully review your monthly statements.
10. Request a free credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com at least once a year.
11. Consider placing a fraud alert on your credit report if you notice unusual transactions or if your information should become compromised.

For more information please contact Congresswoman Melissa Bean:
In Illinois:
Phone: 847-519-3434
Fax: 847-519-3436

In Washington, DC:
Phone: 202-225-3711
Fax: 202-225-7830
E-mail: Melissa@mail.house.gov
Website: www.house.gov/bean