Don't fall into the same trap we did! Protect yourself from ID theft.

About a month after returning from a family vacation, we were contacted by one of our credit card companies asking if my wife had that day made some large credit card purchases in the Orlando area. 

With this phone call we became part of the nation's fastest growing white-collar crime, identity theft. We still had the card and, as far as we knew, it hadn't been out of our possession but someone was using it claiming to be my wife.  

The Identity Theft Resource Center (www.idtheftcenter.org) estimates that 700,000 consumers became victims of identity theft in 2001, a trend that has reached epidemic proportions.  It's the fastest growing crime on the FTC list of consumer fraud complaints for the third consecutive year.

Frank W. Abagnole, respected authority on identity theft and author of, "Catch Me If You Can", stated, "I don't know of any crime that's easier, and easier to get away with than identity theft." 

We live in a time when, if you make it easy to steal from you, chances are someone will. To help you reduce the risk of identity theft, consider following the steps below.  

1. Remove your name from marketing lists of the three credit-reporting bureaus. This reduces the number of pre-approved credit offers you receive. Equifax (300-685-1111); Experian (888-397-3742); Trans Union (800-916-8800)

2. Add your name to the name-deletion list of the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service and Telephone Preference Service used by banks and other marketers.

3. Shred all old bank and credit statements, as well as "junk mail" credit-card offers, before trashing them. Use a crosscut shredder. Crosscut shredders cost more than regular shredders but are superior.

4. Guard your Social Security number. It is the key to your credit report and banking accounts and is the prime target of criminals.

5. Monitor your credit report. It contains your Social Security number, present and prior employers, a listing of all account numbers, including those that have been closed, and your overall credit score. After applying for a loan, credit card, rental or anything else that requires a credit report, request that your Social Security number on the application be truncated or completely obliterated and your original credit report be shredded before your eyes or returned to you once a decision has been made. A lender or rental manager needs to retain only your name and credit score to justify a decision.

6. Do not carry extra credit cards or other important identity documents except when needed.

7. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Copy both sides of your license and credit cards so you have all the account numbers, expiration dates and phone numbers if your wallet or purse is stolen.

8. Do not mail bill payments and checks from home. They can be stolen from your mailbox and washed clean in chemicals. Take them to the post office.

9. Do not print your Social Security number on your checks.

10. Order your Social Security Earnings and Benefits statement once a year to check for fraud.

11. Examine the charges on your credit-card statements before paying them.

12. Cancel unused credit-card accounts.

13. Never give your credit-card number or personal information over the phone unless you have initiated the call and trust that business.

14. Consider subscribing to a credit-report monitoring service that will notify you whenever someone applies for credit in your name.

If you suspect you are already a victim of identity theft, be guided by the following:

• Review the wealth of resources that can be found at www.idtheftcenter.org.

• Contact one of the three credit-reporting agencies. That agency will notify the others. A "fraud alert" will be automatically placed on each of your credit reports within 24 hours. This alerts creditors to call you for permission before any new accounts are opened in your name. Not all creditors pay attention to "fraud alerts," so you need to stay vigilant for any new accounts that may be opened.

• Once the credit-reporting agencies are notified, you'll automatically receive a free credit report from each of the three agencies, and you will be opted out of preapproved credit card and insurance offers. After you receive your reports, make note of the unique number assigned to your account. This will be valuable in all your communications with the agencies. Write a victim statement explaining what happened to you, and ask for it to be added to your file at each agency.

• Contact creditors for any accounts that have been tampered with or opened without your knowledge. Be sure to put your complaints in writing. Ask each creditor to provide you and your investigating law enforcement agency with copies of the documents showing fraudulent transactions. You may have to fight to get this documentation, but don't give up. You'll need these to help track down the perpetrator.

• Contact the FTC at (877) 438-4338. While federal investigators only tend to pursue larger, more sophisticated fraud cases, they monitor identity theft crimes of all levels in the hopes of discovering patterns and breaking up larger rings. More importantly, fill out the ID Theft Affidavit at the FTC's Web site, make copies and send them to your creditors. The agency also has an online complaint form.

• Alert the police in your city. You may also need to report the crime to the police departments where the crime occurred. Make sure the police report lists all fraud accounts. Give as much documented information as possible. Get a copy of the report and send it to the creditors and the credit-reporting agencies as proof of the crime. Keep the phone number of your police investigator handy.

• Change all your account passwords. If an account does not have a password, add one. Avoid using your mother's maiden name or the last four digits of your Social Security number as a personal identification number

• Notify the Office of the Inspector General if your Social Security number has been fraudulently used. Ask for a copy of your Personal Earnings and Benefits Statement and check for accuracy.

• You may need to change your driver's license number if someone is using yours as an ID. Go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a new number. Contact your telephone and utility companies to prevent a con artist from using a utility bill as proof of residence when applying for new cards.