financialforum
Identity Theft
Your personal information easily can be accessed by thieves
looking to steal your identity, unless you take some necessary
steps to protect yourself. By Phil Dyer, CFP
W
ith the holiday season in identity theft cases involve thieves dump-
full swing, identity thieves are ster-diving to retrieve discarded docu-
working overtime to bilk you ments. Other documents that should be
and merchants alike. According to recent shredded include pay stubs, tax returns,
estimates, more than 10 million Ameri- and pre-approved credit card offers.
cans are victims of identity theft each year. Be careful with your computer. Protec-
When it comes to preventing identity theft, tion steps include choosing good passwords
the best offense is a good defense. (avoid your mother’s maiden name and
Here are some steps you can take to your child or spouse’s name or birthday),
help protect yourself from identity theft: using the most up-to-date anti-virus and
One Way to Protect
Get a copy of your credit report. All anti-spyware software, securing your wire-
Your Identity
consumers are entitled to receive one less network, and ignoring online solicita-
■ MOAA offers the Iden- free copy of their credit report from each tions asking for personal information, even
tity Guard credit monitor-
of the major credit reporting agencies those that appear to be offi cial.
ing service to help protect
(Experian, Transunion, and Equifax) Watch the mail. Never put checks in
you from identity theft.
You can find out more by
every 12 months. Visit
www.annualcre your mailbox. Many identity thieves cruise
visiting
www.moaa.org/
ditreport.com or call (877) 322-8228 to neighborhoods looking for raised mailbox
products and clicking on get yours. You can get a combined report fl ags and steal the contents. Instead, drop
Identity Guard or by call-
from all three agencies or get an individ- your mail into a postal mailbox or use an
ing (800) 214-4791.
ual one every four months. online bill-paying service.
Stop the solicitations. Getting off of If you are a victim of identity theft, im-
phone telemarketing and mail solicitation mediately contact local law enforcement,
lists can cut opportunities for thieves to your bank and credit card companies, and
contact you. To get on the National “Do all three credit bureaus, and fi le a complaint
Not Call” Registry, visit
www.donotcall with the Federal Trade Commission at
.gov. Registration protects you for fi ve years
www.ftc.gov/bcp/index.shtml.
— and don’t forget to register cell phones. All three credit bureaus now allow con-
To opt out of credit card, insurance, and sumers to freeze their credit; this is free for
other mail solicitations, visit www.optout identity theft victims, while other consum-
prescreen.com or call (888) 567-8688. ers will be charged a small fee. MO
Shred it. Any documents with identify-
ing information on them, such as Social — Former Army Capt. Phil Dyer, CFP
®, is
Security numbers, bank account or credit
deputy director, Benefi ts Information and Finan-
card numbers, PIN information, and birth-
cial Education. To fi nd a fi nancial planner near
you, contact Garrett Planning Network at
days, never should be thrown away. In-
(866) MOAA-GPN (662-2476) or
www.moaa
stead, buy a crosscut shredder to dispose of
.org/garrett, or visit
www.moaa.org/fi nancial
these documents. A signifi cant number of center for other resources.
48 MILITARY OFFICER DECEMBER 2007 PHOTO: SEAN SHANAHAN
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