It’s important to protect your personal information, and to take certain steps quickly to minimize the potential damage from identity theft if your information is accidentally disclosed or deliberately stolen:

• Close compromised credit card accounts immediately.
• If someone steals your social security number (SSN), contact one of the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion — and place an initial fraud alert on your credit reports.
• Monitor your credit report. Keep in mind that fraudulent activity may not show up right away.
• Consult with your financial institution about handling the effects on bank or brokerage accounts.
• Contact relevant government agencies to cancel and replace any stolen drivers licenses or other identification documents, and to “flag” your file.
• Watch for signs of identity theft: late or missing bills, receiving credit cards that you didn’t apply for, being denied credit or offered less favorable terms for no apparent reason, or getting contacted by debt collectors or others about purchases you didn’t make.
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Phishing

Phishing is a scam where Internet fraudsters send spam or pop-up messages to lure personal and financial information from unsuspecting victims. To avoid getting hooked:

• Don't reply to email or pop-up messages that ask for personal or financial information, and don't click on links in the message. Don't cut and paste a link from the message into your Web browser — phishers can make links look like they go one place, but that actually send you to a different site.
• If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization using a phone number you know to be genuine, or open a new Internet browser session and type in the company's correct Web address yourself.
• Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software, as well as a firewall, and update them all regularly.
• Don't email personal or financial information.
• Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges.
• Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receive, regardless of who sent them.
• Forward spam that is phishing for information to spam@uce.gov and to the company, bank, or organization impersonated in the phishing email. You also may report phishing email to reportphishing@antiphishing.org. The Anti-Phishing Working Group, a consortium of ISPs, security vendors, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies, uses these reports to fight phishing.
• If you've been scammed, visit the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft website at www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
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