You can help protect your identity, financial assets, and good credit, and avoid being a victim of insurance fraud, by taking these identity theft prevention measures:
- Shred or tear up personal financial documents before discarding them.
- Do not print personal identifiers such as your social security number, date of birth, or driver's license number on your checks.
- Use your social security number only when necessary.
- Ensure a web site is securely protected before revealing any information online (secure web sites display yellow padlocks symbol in the corner of a computer screen)
- Do not respond to emails requesting personal identifier information, even if they claim to be from your insurance company. If you have questions about an email supposedly sent by your insurance carrier, always call your insurance representative or the carrier to verify its validity
- Do not provide personal, financial or identifying information to an unknown telephone caller, even if they claim to be your insurance carrier. Ask for the caller's name and telephone number, and then check with your insurer to determine the caller's validity.
- Pay attention to billing cycles as identity thieves may reroute bills to another address to hide criminal activities.
- Review your monthly credit card and other financial statements to check for unauthorized use.
- Obtain a copy of your credit report annually to check for errors.
- Minimize the number of credit cards and identifying information you carry, especially your social security card and passport.
- Before revealing any information, online or in person, ask how it will be used.