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Larn what identity theft is, how to protect yourself against it, and how to know if someone stole your identity.

• What Is Identity Theft?
• How To Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft
• How To Know if Someone Stole Your Identity
• Monitoring Services, Recovery Services, and Identity Theft Insurance

What Is Identity Theft?

Identity theft is when someone uses your personal or fiscal information without your permission.

They might steal your name and address, credit card, or bank business relationship numbers, Social Security number, or medical insurance account numbers. And they could use them to

• buy things with your credit cards
• get new credit cards in your name
• open a telephone, electricity, or gas account in your proper noun
• steal your tax refund
• employ your health insurance to get medical care
• pretend to exist yous if they are arrested

How To Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft

Taking steps to protect your personal information tin can help you lot avoid identity theft. Here's what you can do to stay alee of identity thieves.

Protect documents that have personal data

Go on your financial records, Social Security and Medicare cards, and any other documents that have personal information in a safe place. When yous decide to get rid of those documents, shred them before you lot throw them abroad. If yous don't take a shredder, look for a local shred 24-hour interval, or utilize a marking to block out business relationship numbers.

If y'all become statements with personal information in the postal service, take your mail out of the mailbox equally soon every bit y'all tin can.

Ask questions before giving out your Social Security number

Some organizations need your Social Security number to identify you. Those organizations include the IRS, your bank, and your employer. Organizations like these that do need your Social Security number won't call, electronic mail, or text you to ask for it.

Other organizations that might ask yous for your Social Security number might non really demand information technology. Those organizations include a medical provider, a company, or your child's school. Inquire these questions before you lot give them your Social Security number:

• Why do you need it?
• How will you lot protect information technology?
• Tin can you use a dissimilar identifier?
• Tin can y'all utilize just the last four digits of my Social Security number?

Protect your information from scammers online and on your phone

If you lot're logging in to an online account, use a strong password.

Add together multi-factor authentication for accounts that offer information technology. Multi-factor hallmark offers extra security by requiring two or more credentials to log in to your account. The additional credentials y'all need to log in to your account fall into two categories: something you accept — similar a passcode you get via text message or an hallmark app, or something you are — similar a browse of your fingerprint, your retina, or your face up. Multi-factor authentication makes information technology harder for scammers to log in to your accounts if they do get your username and password.

Practise not requite your personal information to someone who calls, emails, or texts you. It could exist a scammer trying to steal your information.

How To Know if Someone Stole Your Identity

In addition to taking steps to protect your data, information technology pays to know how to tell if someone stole your identity. There are things you can do yourself to detect identity theft. There also are companies that sell credit and identity monitoring services.

What you can do to detect identity theft

Here's what you lot can do to spot identity theft:

• Track what bills you owe and when they're due. If you lot stop getting a bill, that could be a sign that someone changed your billing address.
• Review your bills.Charges for things yous didn't purchase could exist a sign of identity theft. So could a new beak you didn't expect.
• Check your depository financial institution business relationship statement.Withdrawals yous didn't brand could be a sign of identity theft.
• Get and review your credit reports. Accounts in your name that you don't recognize could exist a sign of identity theft. Here's how you tin get your free credit reports.

If you lot detect that someone is misusing your personal information, visit IdentityTheft.gov to report and recover from identity theft.

Monitoring Services, Recovery Services, and Identity Theft Insurance

Many companies sell identity theft protection services that may include credit monitoring, identity monitoring, identity recovery services, and identity theft insurance. These services also might be offered by your

• bank or credit union
• credit card provider
• employer'southward benefits plan
• insurance visitor

Credit monitoring services

Credit monitoring services scan activity that shows up on your credit reports. They might monitor activity at one, two, or all three of the major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Credit monitoring services will usually alert you lot when

• a company checks your credit history
• a new loan or credit card account appears on your credit reports
• a creditor or debt collector says your payment is tardily
• public records show that you filed for bankruptcy
• someone files a lawsuit confronting you
• your credit limit changes
• your personal data, similar your proper noun, address, or phone number, changes

Credit monitoring services will not warning you when

• someone withdraws money from your depository financial institution account
• someone uses your Social Security number to file a tax render and collect your refund

If you're because using a credit monitoring service, hither are some questions you can ask them:

• How often do you check credit reports for changes?
• Which of the 3 credit bureaus practice yous monitor?
• Is there a limit to how often I can review my credit reports?
• Volition I be charged each fourth dimension I review my credit reports?
• Are other services included, similar admission to my credit score?

Identity monitoring services

Companies that offer identity monitoring services check databases that collect different types of data to run into if they incorporate new or inaccurate information about y'all. Those could be a sign that someone is using your personal information. These services can detect uses of your personal information that won't show up on your credit report.

Identity monitoring services may tell you when your information shows upwards in

• a change of accost request
• court or arrest records
• orders for new utility, cablevision, or wireless services
• an awarding for a payday loan
• a request to cash a bank check
• on social media
• on websites that identity thieves use to trade stolen information

Well-nigh identity monitoring services volition not warning you if someone uses your information to

• file a tax render and collect your refund
• get Medicare benefits
• become Medicaid benefits
• get welfare benefits
• claim Social Security benefits
• claim unemployment benefits

Identity recovery services

Companies that sell credit and identity monitoring services too may offering identity recovery services to aid yous set up any damage caused by identity theft. These services may exist included or toll actress. Some of the services they offer may be things you tin can practice on your own for little or no cost.

Identity recovery services typically give you access to counselors or example managers who will help you recover your identity. They may

• aid you write letters to creditors and debt collectors
• place a freeze on your credit report to prevent an identity thief from opening new accounts in your name
• guide you through documents y'all have to review

Some services will represent you in dealing with creditors or other institutions if you formally grant them say-so to act on your behalf.

Identity theft insurance

Companies that sell monitoring services too may offering identity theft insurance. These services may be included or toll extra.

Identity theft insurance may cover

• out-of-pocket expenses directly associated with reclaiming your identity, like
  • the cost of copying documents
  • postage costs for sending documents
  • costs for getting documents notarized
• wages you lost
• legal fees you paid

Identity theft insurance by and large won't reimburse you for money stolen or fiscal loss resulting from the theft. Most policies won't pay if your loss is covered past your homeowner's or renter's insurance. If you're considering getting identity theft insurance, ask about the deductible and notice out what's covered and what isn't.

Find out how to recognize the signs of medical identity theft, taxation identity theft, and kid identity theft.

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Source: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-identity-theft

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