Protect your identity from the Federal Trade Commission:
Identity theft basics
What is identity theft?
Identity theft is when someone uses your personal information without your permission. They may open a credit card account, get a loan, or rent apartments in your name using your personal information. They also might access your bank or retirement accounts. You may not know that identity theft has happened until you see your credit report, are notified when trying to apply for credit, or get called by a debt collector.
For more information about identity theft, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s website.
How does identity theft happen?
Identity theft is a serious crime. Identity thieves steal information in several ways, such as:
•Digging through trash cans and other places to find documents that contain credit card numbers, account numbers, Social Security Numbers and other personal information
•Retrieving information from lost or discarded computer equipment, mobile phones and PDAs, or wallets
•Using rogue Radio-Frequency Identification readers; stealing checks, credit cards, debit cards, passports, driver’s licenses, Social Security cards; or skimming the information from card readers to create new cards
•Stealing information from personal computers using malware or spyware
•Hacking into computer networks and databases to steal large amounts of personal information or infiltrating organizations that store large amounts of valuable information
•Acting as a trusted organization to obtain personal information and/or financial information through the mail, telephone, text messaging and email