A thief can get your identity by:

• Stealing a wallet and purse with your ID, credit, and bank cards.
• Stealing your mail, including bank and credit card statements,
• pre-approved credit offers, new checks, and tax information.
• Completing a change-of-address form to divert your mail to an other location.
• Dumpster-diving through your trash for personal data.
• Falsely obtaining your credit report by posing as a landlord, employer, or someone else who may have a legitimate need for, and legal right to your information.
• Posing as a representative from a company or government agency through bogus e-mail or telephone contacts.
• Finding your personal information in your home.
• Using personal information you share on the internet.
• “Shoulder surfing” at the ATM or phone booth to watch you enter your PINs.
• Hacking computer files, or stealing or bribing an employee to steal the files out of an office where you are a customer, employee, patient, or student.

You can prevent theft by:

• Carrying only the ID, insurance, and credit cards you use often. Keep the rest in a lockbox at home or otherwise secure location.
• Storing your wallet or purse in a secure location while you’re at work or other public place.
• Not printing your Social Security or driver’s license numbers on your checks.
• Not leaving mail in your box for a long period of time.
• Stopping your mail while on vacation.
• Promptly and thoroughly reviewing financial statements, disput ing anything that looks suspicious.
• Inquiring at your local post office if your mail volume suddenly decreases.
• Shredding documents that contain personal information before you throw them away.
• Refusing to provide personal information over the phone unless you know the caller.
• Memorizing your PINs and passwords. Do not write them down or store them anywhere in your home.

For more information or help if your identity has been stolen:

www.co.boulder.co.us/da/consumer/Consumer.htm

www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/idtheft.html