Identity Theft and Financial Fraud Protection

Identity, theft, happens, when, someone, misuses, your, personal, information., This, can, include, your, Social, Security, number,, credit, card, details,, or, login, credentials., They, do, this, without, permission,, often, to, open, fake, accounts,, make, unauthorized, purchases,, or, even, file, a, tax, return, in, your, name., The, financial, and, time, costs, of, fixing, identity, theft, can, be, huge., That's, why, taking, steps, to, prevent, it, is, so, important.

A, credit, freeze, blocks, access, to, your, credit, report., This, keeps, new, accounts, from, being, opened, in, your, name, unless, you, lift, the, freeze, first., It’s, a, strong,, free, way, to, protect, yourself., Unlike, a, fraud, alert,, a, credit, freeze, doesn't, automatically, expire., You, have, to, lift, it, manually, when, you, want, to, apply, for, new, credit.

Here, are, some, common, fraud, tactics, to, recognize:, phishing, (fraudulent, emails, or, messages, pretending, to, be, from, a, trusted, organization,, trying, to, get, your, personal, information), skimming, (a, hidden, device, capturing, card, information, at, ATMs, or, payment, terminals),, and, impersonation, scams, (someone, pretending, to, be, from, a, bank, or, the, IRS,, pushing, for, an, immediate, response, with, a, fake, sense, of, urgency).

Build, these, practical, protective, habits:, review, your, account, and, credit, card, statements, regularly, for, unfamiliar, charges,, use, unique, passwords, for, different, accounts, instead, of, reusing, them, (so, one, breach, doesn’t, compromise, everything),, enable, two-factor, authentication, where, possible,, and, stay, skeptical, of, unsolicited, messages, that, create, a, false, sense, of, urgency., This, tactic, works, because, it, disrupts, careful, thinking.