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Identifty theft

A recent Federal Trade Commission study suggests that nearly 10 million Americans discovered in the past year that they had been the victim of some kind of identity fraud, ranging from simple credit card fraud to complicated cases of identity takeover. This type of crime costs individual victims an average of $500 each and businesses an estimated $48 billion a year.

There are steps you can take to reduce your risk of identify fraud. These include reducing access to your personal data (social security number, birth certificate, passport), limiting the number of active credit cards you keep and monitoring their usage, periodically requesting a copy of your credit report, and maintaining careful records of your banking and financial accounts.

For more information on how to reduce the threat, or what steps to take if you become a victim of identify theft, see:

• OIT: Identity Theft
• FTC: ID Theft
• Dept. of Justice: Identity Theft and Fraud?
• Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: Identify Theft Resources
• Identify Theft Resource Center