Tips from the Federal Trade Commission on Identity Protection

04/10/2023

Review the charges on your credit cards and bank account statements regularly. Avoid simply glancing over them or passing them along to your bookkeeper to pay off – this is usually the first place unauthorized activity will show up! It may surprise you that many of the more sophisticated scams involve micro-transactions of less than $20. These scams often go unnoticed and will add up very quickly.
Contact your credit card company or bank if an account statement does not arrive. An overdue or missing bill may indicate that someone called your bank using your name to change the billing address, preventing you from catching their shopping spree on your card.
Don’t give out personal information by phone, mail or online unless you initiate the contact or know the caller personally. Thieves may pose as bank representatives, Internet service providers, or government agents to get you to reveal personal information.
Destroy or shred all unneeded documents that contain personal & financial information. These include credit card receipts, insurance forms, medical and bank statements, AND credit card offers.