Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

Anyone can be the target of identity theft.  To safeguard your money and your credit rating, take these common-sense precautions:

· Access, print and carefully examine your credit report at least once per year.

· Never give out personal information via phone or email to people you don’t know.

· Do your homework on how online sites like PayPal and eBay work before you use them.

· Be skeptical of “business” emails with incorrect grammar and spelling errors.

· Don’t cash or deposit checks from people or businesses you don’t know.

· Monitor your credit card and bank accounts even if you don’t use them very often.

· Make this your mantra:  If an offer seems too good to be true, it is.

· If you do become an identity theft victim, cancel your credit cards, call your bank or financial institution, and file a police report.