IDENTITY THEFT

Identity theft has become a critical national issue. Recent government statistics show that more than 27 million Americans have been victims of identity theft over the past five years, including 10 million in 2002 alone.

About Identity Theft
Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information such as your name, Social Security number or credit card number without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes.

Identity theft victims can spend months or years - and their hard earned money - cleaning up the mess thieves make of their good name and credit record. In the meantime, victims may lose job opportunities, be refused loans, education, housing or cars, or even get arrested for crimes they didn't commit.

Prevent Identity Theft
Identity theft can happen to anyone. The best line of defense against it begins with you. Here are some valuable tips that you can take to protect yourself:

1. Do not give out financial information such as checking, savings or credit card account numbers, or your Social Security number, unless you know the person or organization you are dealing with, even someone claiming to be from LFCU. LFCU will never call you and ask for your account numbers or Social Security number.
   
   
2. Report lost or stolen checks immediately. LFCU will block payment on the check numbers involved. Also, review new deliveries of checks to ensure none have been stolen in transit.
   
   
3. Set up a free email alert to help monitor your accounts for you. You can set up an alert to automatically send you an email message if your account falls below a certain amount. Log in to Online Banking and click "Notifications" to get started.
   
   
4. Notify the applicable institution of suspicious phone inquiries such as those asking for account information to "verify a statement" or "award a prize."
   
   
5. Shred any financial solicitations or monthly financial institution statements before disposing of them.
   
   
6. Closely guard your ATM PIN Number and collect and shred ATM transaction receipts.
   
   
7. Place outgoing mail, especially bill payments, in a secure collection box, ideally one managed by the U.S. Post Office.
   
   
8. Call the billing company if regular bills fail to reach you and find out why.
   
   
9. Don't wait to investigate questionable charges on your bills. Immediate action can head off any possible fraud.
   
   
10. Check your credit. You can order a free annual credit report once a year. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call (877) 322-8228. You will need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. To verify your identity, you may also be asked to provide some additional information that only you would know, such as the lender and amount of your monthly mortgage payment. You can also ensure you are immediately notified of any change in your credit report by subscribing to a monitoring service such as Credit Expert. You'll receive unlimited access to your credit information and e-mail alerts of inquiries, credit score changes, and late payments. As an alternative, you can obtain a single copy of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus:
    
    Equifax (800) 685-1111
    Experian (888) 397-3742
    TransUnion (800) 916-8800
    
    
11. Check the LFCU Fraud Watchlist for recent fraudulent activity to help you stay informed of current scams. We recommend you bookmark this page and check back periodically for updates.
    
    
12. Contact the LFCU Member Service Center at (800) 328-5328 or send us an email if you have any questions or concerns about protecting your financial identity. Together, we can work to minimize the risk of identity theft happening to you.

Click here for additional resources on identity theft.