How to protect yourself from Identity Theft

• Do not carry extra credit cards, your Social Security card, passport or birth certificate except when absolutely necessary.
• Install a locked mailbox at your residence or use a post office box to reduce the chance of mail theft.
• Pick up new checks at your bank.
• Do not leave paid bills in your mailbox for the postal carrier to pick up.
• Ask your financial institutions to add extra security protection to your account. Most will allow you to use an additional code when accessing your account.
• Protect your Social Security Number at all costs. Do not let merchants write your SSN on your checks. Request merchants to use other forms of identification.
• Never allow credit card numbers to be written on your checks.
• Do not use your birth date or mother's maiden name as PIN numbers or passwords.
• Remove your name from the marketing lists of the three credit reporting bureaus - Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. This will reduce the number of pre approved credit offers you receive in the mail.
• Shred all paperwork with financial and personal information on it before throwing it in the garbage.

What to do if you are a victim of Identity Theft

• Immediately call the fraud units of the three credit reporting companies: Experian, Equifax and Trans Union. Ask that your file be flagged with a fraud alert.
• Contact all creditors immediately with whom your name has been used fraudulently by phone and in writing. The Federal Trade Commission provides a uniform affidavit form that most creditors accept.
• Report the crime to your local police, sheriff's office or Florida Highway Patrol, Bureau of Investigations, office
• Notify the local Postal Inspector if you suspect an identity thief has filed a change of your address with the post office or has used the mail to commit fraud.
• Contact the Social Security Administration to report fraudulent use of your Social Security Number.
• Contact the passport office to alert them to anyone ordering a passport fraudulently in your name whether you have a passport or not.
• Call the office of the Division of Drivers Licenses to see if another license has been issued in your name.