Protect yourself from identity theft

Follow these guidelines to protect yourself from identity theft:

1. Don’t give out your personal information on the phone to someone you have not called.
2. Don’t give your personal information online to anyone you have not contacted directly, and be sure that the company with which you are dealing is legitimate.
3. Check your credit report annually. It’s free. Go to https://www. annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp or call 877-322-8228.
4. Don’t carry your Social Security card in your wallet.
5. Don’t use your Social Security number for identification purposes unless you’re required to do so by law. Generally, you are not required to provide your Social Security number to a business unless the company is required to report transactions to the Internal Revenue Service. Unfortunately, many businesses ask for your Social Security number for their own identification purposes, and there are few laws to prevent them from doing so. If a company asks for your Social Security number, don’t give it immediately. Ask the company to use an alternate number such as your driver’s license number. The Government Accountability Office (www.gao.gov) has compiled a list of state laws that limit the use of Social Security numbers. You can consult this list to learn about the rights you have in your particular home state.
6. It has been against the law since December 17, 2005, for states to use your Social Security number as your driver’s license number, but many people still have older driver’s licenses that are not yet up for renewal that display their Social Security number. Ask for a new license without your Social Security number.
7. Take yourself off the list to receive those nuisance preapproved credit card offers. Identity thieves retrieve these from the trash and apply for credit cards in your name. Call 888-5-OPT-OUT or go online to www.optoutprescreen.com to get your name removed from the lists used to generate preapproved credit card offers. You need to enter your name, phone number, address, and Social Security number. You can take yourself off the list for five years or permanently. I suggest permanently. 
8. Change your health insurance card number from your Social Security number.
9. Check websites that require personal data. See if the web address bar begins with https rather than just http. The “s” means that the website is protected by SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) security that encrypts your data. Look for a closed padlock image in the bottom-right corner. Double-click on the padlock to check that the website’s security certificate is genuine and up-to-date. The padlock indicates that your information is being encrypted. 
10. Shred, shred, shred. Cross shredding is best, because some methamphetamine addict could stay up all night piecing together your vertically shredded trash to get information to be used to make you a victim of identity theft.

Credit freeze
You can also opt for a credit freeze. You know about the pain people experience after eating ice cream or drinking a cold beverage too quickly. (If you are academically inclined, the proper name for brain freeze is Spheno Palatine Gangleoneuralgia.) However, you may not be familiar with credit freezes, which can provide you with tremendous protection from becoming a victim of identity theft.

To evaluate an application for credit, particularly for credit to buy a large ticket item, such as expensive electronic equipment or a car, the retailer looks at your credit report to determine whether you are creditworthy. A credit freeze is a lock on your credit report that prevents your credit report from being seen by anyone unless you specifi cally, through the use of a PIN, make the credit report available.

This provides a great deal of protection from identity theft, because even if an identity thief is able to get access to suffi cient personal information of yours, such as your Social Security number, he will still not be able to access your credit report without knowing your PIN.

Unfortunately, only about half of the states authorize credit freezes, and fi ve of them permit credit freezes only after you have become a victim of identity theft. The truth is, the federal government has been reluctant to pass much-needed national credit freeze legislation, largely due to the lobbying efforts of the banking and credit industry, which would rather tolerate identity theft than do anything that would slow down impulse buying.
Read More : Protect yourself from identity theft

The Truth About Identity Theft

“We’re number one.” That chant can be heard at many sporting events. Being number one generally is a position of great prominence. However, when it comes to scams, being number one is a dubious distinction. Identity theft is and will be for the foreseeable future number one among scams. More than a third of all fraud complaints to the Federal Trade Commission are for identity theft. In 2006, 14 million Americans were victims of identity theft.

Identity theft occurs when someone obtains your personal information, such as a credit card number or a Social Security number, and then either uses this information to gain access to your accounts or uses it to obtain credit in your name and run up enormous bills that come back as black marks on your credit report. Identity theft is an attractive growth industry in the criminal world. It is easy to accomplish and difficult to catch. It can be done through high tech, low tech, or no tech.

Identity thieves obtain your personal information by sophisticated computer tactics that trick you into providing your personal information, or they can obtain it by going through your garbage for credit card applications that you have thrown in the trash. You may be victimized by organized criminals continents away or by members of your own family. Identity theft is everywhere. The damage to your credit report is one of the most harmful aspects of identity theft.

The information contained in your credit report is used by the credit reporting agencies to calculate your credit score. The range of credit scores is between 300 and 850. The higher your score, the better your credit. Your ability to get a car loan, credit card, or a mortgage loan as well as the interest rate for which you will be eligible is affected by your credit score. Many people are unaware that their credit score affects the interest rate that they will be offered on loans or credit cards.

Your ability to get a job, obtain insurance, or rent an apartment is often dependent upon your credit score. When you are the victim of identity theft, the misuse of your 1 credit by the identity thief can drastically reduce your credit score, thereby making your life much more diffi cult and expensive. It is a complicated, frustrating, and time-consuming task to try to correct your credit report after you have been the victim of identity theft. Identity theft can be like herpes: You have it for life. Once you have been victimized, it can come back to haunt you, even years later. One of the latest identity theft twists is medical identity theft, or the theft of a person’s identity to access his health insurance.

The effects on the victim can be enormous. In addition to the usual damage to your credit for unpaid bills, your medical treatment could be based on the identity thief’s medical history. You could receive a prescription that harmfully interacts with other prescriptions you take. You could even receive a blood transfusion of the wrong blood type.

Credit records can be difficult to correct following an identity theft, but medical records can be almost impossible to fi x due to medical privacy laws. Medical identity theft is often an inside job. An employee of the health care provider gives the information to identity thieves, who in turn sell the information to people needing medical care.

Sometimes, however, medical identity theft is an outside job, where the identity thieves go through the trash of a health care provider. Protect yourself from medical identity theft as you would from any identity theft by shredding medical bills and records that you are discarding. In addition, keep an updated copy of your medical records that your physician maintains.

Always read any communications from your health insurance provider carefully, regardless of how difficult they sometimes are to understand. Ask your health insurance provider to give you a list of all payments made in your name. If you fi nd any irregularities, you can follow up with both your physician and the credit reporting bureaus.
Read More : The Truth About Identity Theft

Protecting Yourself from Scholarship Scams

Scammers are all over the place on the internet including Scholarships. Many students cheat by fake scholarships because they lack of information. Let’s me straight this thing and make to be simple to understand… “You need money and the scammers want your money”, so don’t spend your money to someone you did not recognize out there. Just invest your time and spent your money ONLY for a postage stamp.

Here are several “NO” cautions you must understand to avoid the scammers take your money:

NO Pay:
If they ask you to PAY with such terms as "processing fee", "guarantee fee", "origination fee", "insurance fee" or "default fee", they probably scam.

NO Guaranty :
If they guaranteed your application winning, they scam.

NO Claims:
If they claim everything so it’s sound too good to be true such as : influence of scholarship sponsors, high rate success to winning your application , make an easy way for you to get scholarships, an approval or recommendations from the funding, they scam.

NO Apply:
Avoid websites that promise you to apply scholarships for you. You should do by yourself to submit applications, write essays and solicit letters of recommendation to win a scholarship. If you meet such word:”We apply on your behalf”, “We Apply For You”.  They scam.

NO Telephone Number:
Scammers usually use email and rarely include a phone number because it is easily traced. They scam

NO Proof of The Winners:
If the organization can’t give record of list of the scholarship winner, be caution that “the scholarship” probably be a scam except new scholarships programs. But, if they said that the company is new, it could easily be a scam.

NO Phone Call Notification:
Legal scholarships generally notify the winners by mail, so be very careful when you get a call that told you about winning of scholarship. Ask their identity (name, occupation and phone number) then visit the scholarship’s official website and contact the sponsors. Verify the identity of the person who called you, are those of one of their representatives. If legitimated, call them back.

NO Time Pressure:
If you have to responds quickly about their offer, it might be a scam. Every scholarships program has their own schedule so nobody will push you to do quickly.

NO Specific Criteria:
All scholarship sponsors are looking for specific candidates. There are several scholarships which are not depending on academic merit, athletic prowess and minority student status, but set of the restrictions always applies. If they tell that all student are eligible, they are scam.

NO Unusual Request:
If the application asks you about credit card numbers, bank account numbers, calling card numbers or social security numbers to "verify your identity", "confirm your eligibility" or as a "sign of good will", forget them! It’s a scam.

NO Professional Support:
If the support officer have no professional attitudes like swears at you or becomes abusive when you ask questions, they might be a scam.

NO FIFO:
There’s no first in first out, first come first serve also scholarships given on a rolling basis. Investigate all questionable scholarships before applying. Be cautions.

NO Apply but Win:
If you call by someone and tell you that you “won” a scholarship which you are not applied. Hang up immediately because after that they ask your money.

NO Clearly Return Address:
If the return address is a mail drop (e.g., a box number) or a residential address, it is might a scam.

NO Professional Appearance Application:
If the application materials contain errors at grammar typing and spelling or lack an overall professional appearance such as uses a lot of hyperbole (e.g., "free money", "win your fair share", "guaranteed", "first come, first served", “unclaimed scholarship” and "everybody is eligible"), be careful they scam.

NO Clearly Answering-Information:
When you make a phone call and ask your questions but they answer with nonspecific information like a runaround or repeat the same lines again and again, the caller is probably not understanding or reading a standard pitch from a boilerplate script. They scam.

NO Unsolicited Offer:
There are NO unsolicited opportunities – Scholarship sponsors will not normally contact you unless you have first contacted them because they will only contact you in response to your inquiry. If you called by someone from a “scholarship” that you never contacted or you've never heard of the organization before, it's a scam.

NON PROFIT:
Scammers try to establish “trust” by pretends to be non-profits organizations. The company’s name with words “fund” or “foundation” in it doesn’t mean that they are a true non-profit organization. It probably a for-profit business …or might be a scam!

NO Federal Agency:
Don't trust an organization just because it has an official-looking "governmental" seal as its logo or has a prestigious-seeming Washington, DC return address. Check them first whether there really is a federal agency with that name. Scammers use a performance look like federal organizations in order to gain your trust. Beware!

Investigate The Scammers

Tools for Investigating Corporations
If an organization claims to be incorporated - by including "Inc.", "Incorporated", "Corporation", or "LLC" as part of their name, or otherwise identifying themselves as a corporation - their articles of incorporation must be on file with the Office of the State Attorney General or the Office of the Secretary of State. Even if the company is incorporated in another state, they must be registered as an alien or foreign corporation in order to do business in your state. Many states require corporations to file a copy of their annual report as well. If you discover that a corporation isn't really incorporated, that would suggest that it is a scam trying to pass itself off as a legitimate business.

To find out whether an organization is incorporated, call the state's corporation bureau. They can verify the status of a corporation and provide basic information about the organization, such as its date of incorporation, the corporate address, whether it is incorporated as a for-profit or non-profit corporation, the names of the directors or other principals of the corporation and the name and address of the corporation's registered agent.

A few states have established web sites for the office of the attorney general. These include: Florida (see also their Corporations Online database), Delaware, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.

You can also search newspaper full text databases for newspaper references to the company or individual. Useful databases include LEXIS/NEXIS, DataTimes (Dow Jones News/Retrieval), Newsbank, DIALOG and Northern Light Search. Searching these databases usually costs money, however. But some of the databases will display a short excerpt or a list of matching articles for free. It is also helpful to search the web for the organization. The web search engines now check whether the organization has a web site and will provide wire service articles about the organization.

Tools for Investigating Nonprofit Organizations
Foundations and non-profit organizations must register with the state Attorney General's Office or the Office of the Secretary of State. Many states have a separate State Registry of Charitable Trusts for this purpose.

Most states have laws that prohibit companies from using a business name that falsely gives the impression that the company is a government agency, foundation, or public benefit corporation. Although these laws aren't enforced very well, if a company uses the words "Fund" or "Foundation" in its name but is not a foundation, be careful.

Shocking as it may seem, just because an organization is a nonprofit corporation doesn't mean it isn't a scam. All nonprofit status really means is that the corporation does not have shareholders and retains all of its "profits"; it does not mean that it is a charitable organization. Nonprofit corporations are not required to have 501(c)3 tax exempt status. Nothing prevents a nonprofit organization from paying exorbitant salaries to its employees or from providing generous employee benefits.
Your local public library may have a copy of the Directory of Nonprofit Organizations, the Encyclopedia of Associations and the Foundation Center's Foundation Directory and Foundation Grants to Individuals. If the organization is not listed in these directories, be suspicious.

Tools for Investigating Tax-Exempt Organizations
IRS Publication 78 lists all tax-exempt charitable organizations. If an organization charges an application fee for a scholarship but is not listed in IRS Publication 78, chances are it is a scam. (When searching for an organization, it is best to provide the city and state and to avoid keywords like "foundation" which are very common.)

Note that tax-exempt status is not a guarantee than an organization is legitimate. For example, although 501(c)3 organizations must be "organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or education purposes", the US Supreme Court has ruled that state laws cannot mandate such organizations to devote any specific percentage of their revenues to their charitable programs. Of course, if the IRS suspects that a 501(c)3 organization is engaging in tax fraud or is set up to enrich its members, it can audit the organization and revoke its tax exempt status. But it takes the IRS as much as 24 months to review an organization's tax exempt status, long enough for a fly-by-night organization to close up shop and disappear. So such status is suggestive of legitimacy, but no guarantee.

IRS Form 990
The state registry of charitable trusts should have a copy of the organization's annual information return (IRS Form 990-PF for private foundations or IRS Form 990 for nonprofit organizations), which contains information about the amount of money they give away each year. If the amount of money they take in from application fees exceeds the amount of money they give away in scholarships, students aren't being well-served by the organization. Try calling the Attorney General's Office (you may need to ask for the Office of Charitable Registrations) and ask if they have an IRS Form 990 on file for the organization.
The IRS Form 990 for an organization is extremely useful in evaluating the operation of the organization and can tell you whether it truly operates in the public interest. However, reporting abuses do occur, so the information on the IRS Form 990 is not guaranteed to be accurate.

501(c)3 organizations with total assets over $250,000 file an IRS Form 990 (information tax return). Those with assets under $250,000 and annual gross revenue under $100,000 file IRS Form 990-EZ. These forms are filed with the Attorney General's office of the state of incorporation and the state(s) in which the organization operates. Charities classified as private foundations (an organization that receives most of its money from investments) file IRS Form 990-PF. Charities with an annual gross revenue of under $25,000 are not required to file an informational return with the Attorney General's office.

IRS Form 990s may be viewed at the nonprofit organization's principal office and at the Attorney General's office (usually in a Registry of Charitable Trusts). It can also be obtained by calling the IRS General Disclosure Officer at the local IRS District Office. To request a copy of a Form 990 from the IRS, file IRS Form 4506.

When evaluating a nonprofit organization, one must look at several factors. How much of its budget is spent on fundraising and how much on salaries? If this figure is too high, the nonprofit could simply be funneling money to the people who created it. Fundraising expenses should never exceed 25% of the annual budget. Likewise, examine carefully how much is spent on general expenses. At least 50% of the annual budget should be spent on program activities.

Also consider the organization's total assets, in comparison with the total grants and other spending. Private foundations are required to give away 5% of their assets every year. Charitable organizations are generally expected to spend half their assets every year.

Key items of the IRS Form 990:
Sources of Income Part I, Lines 1-12 Public Donations Line 1a Government Grants Line 1c Total Revenue Line 12 Expenses Part I, Lines 13-17 Program Services Line 13 Management/General Line 14 Fundraising Line 15 Payment to Affiliates Line 16 Expense Details Part II, Lines 22-44 Officers & Directors Line 25 Accountants Line 31 Lawyers Line 32 Travel Line 39 Conferences/Meetings Line 40 Compensation to Individual Officers, Directors and Trustees can be found in Part V.

How to Identify Mail Drops
Many scams operate out of a residence or use a mail drop as a return address. Scam artists prefer mailboxes at packaging and shipping companies because US Postal Service regulations require the post office to disclose the name and address of the person who rented the box. In contrast, outfits like Mail Boxes Etc. have privacy policies that prohibit the disclosure of this information to private individuals. They will, however, disclose it to law enforcement agencies.

One method of discovering whether an address is a mail drop is to use a reverse telephone index or a CD-ROM telephone directory with reverse indexing capabilities such as PhoneDisc. The reference desk of the local public library in the city in question will have copies of such "criss-cross" directories. In Chicago, you can simply call the telephone company at 1-312-796-9600 for their reverse directory.

Given a reverse telephone index, you can look for mail box rental companies located at the same address as the organization. Your local public library may have a copy of the Directory of US Mail Drops. FinAid also provides a searchable database of mail drops. Because many mail box rental companies will not confirm that a "suite" is indeed a mail drop, call them and say something like "I can't read my handwriting. Is at box 123 or box 125?" when the organization is actually at box 128. They will correct your "error", thereby confirming that the organization did indeed rent a box.

You can also use a reverse telephone directory to explore relationships between names, addresses and telephone numbers. Sometimes a telephone number will have two listings, one for the "business" and one for a residence.

It is also sometimes helpful to look at a map of the area, to judge the proximity of the address to other locations. Free online map services include Yahoo Maps and MapQuest.

Look for a Directory Listing
The lack of a directory listing for the organization is often a good sign of a scam. You can try dialing 1 followed by the area code and 555-1212 to see if they have a listing. Use 1-800-555-1212 to see if they have a toll free number.

There are also several free directory services available online. Toll free databases include AnyWho Directory Service and Internet 800 Directory. Residential/Business databases include Switchboard Residential/Business Telephone Directory, WhoWhere, BigYellow (NYNEX Business Directory) and BigBook Yellow Pages (USA Business/Residential, with Maps). Yellow Pages (Business Listings) include BellSouth Interactive Yellow Pages (Atlanta only), GTE SuperPages (USA only), World Yellow Pages (USA/Canada Business/Residential) and World Wide Yellow Pages. Other useful directories include Yahoo's Phone Number Reference Listing.

Talk to the Organization
If the organization has published a telephone number in their solicitation, it often helps to call the number. Call first as a gullible clueless student and see what they tell you. Sometimes they will unwittingly reveal information about their organization if you ask the right questions in a non-confrontational manner.

If they want a confirmation number, use the one provided on the postcard received by the student. Often the same number is printed on all the postcards.

Other Resources
The State Consumer Protection Offices can sometimes provide helpful information.
The Federal Trade Commission has published a directory of FTC Regional Offices and federal, state and local consumer protection resources. 

If you conduct a Google search for the name of the organization or scholarship and the word 'scam', you may find that other people are also suspicious about the organization.
Try calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID. They have a list of scams that have been the subject of law enforcement action.

The US Department of Education maintains a searchable list of colleges and universities accredited by federally approved accrediting organizations. Any school that isn't on the list might be a diploma mill. (Note, however, that this list includes only Title IV institutions. Schools that do not participate in the federal student aid program might not appear on the list and yet still be accredited.) The FTC and Office of Personnel Management have published a report on identifying diploma mills, Avoid Fake-Degree Burns by Researching Academic Credentials. The Oregon Student Assistance Commission's Office of Degree Authorization has compiled a list of diploma mills.( finaid.org)

Don't let identity thieves steal your future!

I don’t have money, why scammers make me a target for identity theft?

First, they do not steal your money but identity! They use your identity for their financial gain purpose. They hijack your name and every numbers which connected with your identity and it would be seriously jeopardize your next financial life. Finally, they rob your future!

How? With your identity, they able to apply financial product such as credit card, loans by online. And finally you have to responsible for everything they done with your identity not just about money but also name reputation. What happened if you apply credit with bad name reputation? Mostly, the victims of identity theft need much times until months, years to clear everything that the thieves have done to you on frustrating.

If you a student, perhaps easier to be identity target stealing by reason of your personal data available in several places and how students manage their own personal data. Here is college students’ bad habit that could be open door for identity stealing:

• Credit card applications receive by half of college students on a daily or weekly basis. Mostly the students do not destroy them when they throw card applications out.
• Almost 1/3 students never reconcile their credit card and monitoring the account balances.
• 50 % student grades posted list by SSN (Social Security number).

These bad habits will make students become potential target. More, students have many of daily activities that make vulnerable door open wide: 

• Store personal information in your computer
• Receive credit card offers in the mail? Do you discard these documents before you shred of them?
• Using personal computer to buy merchandise or purchase tickets for travel, concerts, or other services.
• Have a student loan
• Using personal computer for online banking transactions
• Using Social Security number for identification?
• Using a cell phone

Each of these daily activities able to set you being risk as a victim of identity theft by reason of all of that activities need to open your personal information online such as your bank and credit card account numbers, your Social Security number, or your name, address, and phone number. The thieves need all of this kind of information to make money.

Definition of Identity Theft
“Identity theft is a term used that is to refer to fraud that involves someone pretending to be someone else in order to steal money or get other benefits. The term dates to 1964 and is actually a misnomer, since it is not inherently possible to steal an identity, only to use it. The person whose identity is used can suffer various consequences when he or she is held responsible for the perpetrator's actions. In many countries specific laws make it a crime to use another person's identity for personal gain” Wikipedia.

When your identity stolen and used in fraud crime, you not only need to clearing up the damage but your bad reputations will make housing credits, job opportunities, car credit or an education loans and every financial product reject your applications . Even you done nothing in a crime or bad habit in credit but you will suffer severe financial consequences and have responsible of it. Now, I wish you have cleared your mind how bad they can do and how came it gonna be, so be caution.

How to protect yourself?

First, build your awareness of secure about how and when you share your personal information. Tips to safe your credit cards:

• Do not write your personal information such as CC, SSN and passwords at media that could be read by others, encrypted.
• Don’t make a password use your date of birth.
• Destroy all of financial documents or applications before sent them into the trash.
• Monitoring and review your credit reports and always check your monthly credit card and bank statements for unusual activity.
• Never share your personal or financial information over the phone or Internet unless you initiated the contact.
• Save your Social Security card or birth certificate at safety box.
• If your credit cards get lost or stolen report immediately.
• Plug a firewall and others securities software in on your computer, especially if you leave your computer connected to the Internet 24 hours a day.
• Do not download unknown files or click the unknown hyperlinks.
• Do not install unknown publisher software and others suspicious software. 

Here’s tip when you apply or use student loans:

• Use caution when using commercial financial aid services over the Internet or telephone. U.S. Department of Education services are free and password- protected. Before deciding to use a for-fee financial aid advice service, visit the Looking for Student Aid site
• Apply for federal student aid at www.fafsa.ed.gov. After completing the FAFSA online, exit the application and close the browser; any cookies created during your session will be deleted automatically.
• Don’t reveal your PIN to anyone, even it that person is helping you fill out the FAFSA. The only time you should use your PIN is on secure ED systems.
• Never give personal information over the phone or Internet unless you made the contact. If you have questions about a solicitation or about your student loan account, call 1-800-4-FED-AID.
• Federal Student Aid securely stores your information on the National Student Loan Data System.However, if you complete or even request a student loan application from a lender, you may be granting the lender permission to access your file. Before providing personal information to an organization, review its privacy policy.
• Destroy all receipts and copies of documents with personal information if they are no longer needed.
• Review your financial aid award documents and keep track of the amounts applied for and awarded
• Report all lost or stolen student identification immediately.

Social Security Numbers - SSN

You have to care about your SSN safeguarding. You would meet some financial activities that need your SSN such your salary, bank wage and tax reporting purposes, credit check, apply for a loan, rent an apartment, or sign up for utilities. Sometimes, however, they simply want your SSN for general record keeping. You should not give your SSN just because someone asks for it, you need ask them the following questions:

• Why?
• How will my SSN be used?
• What law requires me to give you my SSN?
• What will happen if I don’t give you my SSN?

Sometimes you must share it for services or benefits you’re looking for but some just an options that you able to change with other identity.

When your identity stolen

First, contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus:

• Equifax:www.equifax.com
  To order your report, call: 1-800-685-1111
  or write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
  To report fraud, call: 1-800-525-6285
  and write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
  
• Experian:www.experian.com
  To order your report, call: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
  or write: P.O. Box 2104, Allen TX 75013
  To report fraud, call: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
  and write: P.O. Box 9532, Allen TX 75013
• TransUnion:www.transunion.com
  To order your report, call: 800-916-8800
  or write: P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022.
  To report fraud, call: 1-800-680-7289
  and write: Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Then close the accounts and report the police.

If you become a victim of identity theft involving federal education funds or suspect that your student information have been stolen, contact:

• U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General Hotline: e-mail oig.hotline@ed.gov1-800-MISUSED (1-800-647-8733)

For more information or to report identity theft that does not involve federal education funds, visit the following sites:

• Federal Trade Commission1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338)
• Internal Revenue Service
• Social Security Administration,1-800-269-0271
• National White Collar Crime Center
• Identity Theft is a Crime: Resources from the Government

Our society generates an enormous amount of data. Most users of that information are honest, legitimate businesses. But no one, including students, is immune from being a potential victim of identity theft. The financial and emotional consequences of this crime are long term and long lasting. The information provided in this document gives you a number of steps for safeguarding your personal data, and there are many other resources available on the Internet.

You can enrich your information about this subject in here :

Identity theft resource center:Information about scams and consumer alerts, victim resources and other information.

Federal Trade CommissionInformation on protecting yourself against identity theft, forms for reporting identity theft, and other information.

IRS Suspicious e-Mails and Identity Theft Web Page: Information on understanding and preventing identity theft and suspicious e-mails (phishing), or dealing with their aftermath.

United States Postal Inspectors: Information about identity theft of any material that is sent through the mail.

United States Department of Justice:Information on identity theft and prosecution of identity thieves.

Social Security Administration: Information about earnings reported on your Social Security number and takes reports of lost Social Security numbers.

NW3C (National White Collar Crime Center):Information and research so that individuals may become proactive in the prevention of economic cyber crime.