Identity Theft

Identity Theft

Identity theft occurs when someone knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit or to aid or abet any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law or that constitutes a felony under any applicable state or local law.

ID theft is the fastest growing fraud scheme in the United States. It has been estimated that nearly 27 million Americans have been victimized over the recent five year period. Ten million Americans discovered they were victims of some form of ID theft within a recent 12 month period, including the misuse of credit card or other accounts. Nearly 7 million Americans discovered their credit card or other account information had been misused during the recent 12 month period. Over 3 million Americans discovered their personal information had been misused over a recent 12 month period for more serious “new account fraud”—to open new accounts, take out loans, misuse the victim’s name and identifying information when someone is charged with a crime, renting an apartment or obtaining medical care.

On the average victims reported spending about $500 to deal with their identity theft experience. Victims of the more serious “new accounts and other frauds” form of identity theft spend almost $1200 on average. Identity theft of all types cost victims an estimated $5 billion during a recent 12-month period.

Victims of ID theft spent an estimated 297 million hours recovering from identity theft last year. About 194 million hours from “new accounts and other fraud”, while roughly 100 million hours were spent dealing with the misuse of existing accounts.

Here are several ways to protect your identity:

· Shred all junk mail, credit card applications etc. that have your name, SSN, address, Date of birth or other pertinent personal information BEFORE you throw it in the trash.

· When paying bills via U.S. Mail, deposit the bill into a LOCKED mailbox. Do not put it in your mailbox if it is not secured. ID thieves will cruise neighborhoods looking for the “red flag” on mailboxes, take your bills, and alter your personal checks or use the checks to get your account number and order additional checks.

· If your monthly or quarterly bank and/or credit card statements fail to arrive, contact your financial institution and/or credit card company immediately.

· If your financial institution or credit card company offers online viewing of your outstanding checks and charges, monitor your account on a daily or every other day basis. You should be looking for checks that you did not write or charges that you did not authorize.

· Sign your credit cards. If you don’t someone else will!!

· Do not carry your Social Security card in your purse or wallet. In addition, look at other items you carry to determine if they have your SSN on them. If your driver’s license is your SSN, change it. Remember, ID thieves only need your SSN, name and address to steal your ID.

· Finally, if you ever suspect that you may have been a victim of ID theft, follow the instructions below immediately. Waiting two or three days can cause problems down the road.

Due to the rising number of occurrences of identity theft, the Credit Union National Association adopted a program (required under the FACTA which became law last year) issuing one free credit report each year to consumers. This program is designed to encourage consumers to regularly check their credit

report to ensure that the information contained in the report is accurate and also provides an opportunity to the consumer to look for possible signs of identity theft.

The website to request your free credit report is http://www.annualcreditreport.com.

CommunityAmerica Credit Union checking account holders* are automatically enrolled** for no cost identity theft protection. This protection provides assistance in the event that a member becomes a victim of fraud. Benefits include a 24/7 victim assistance resolution service and insurance benefits to cover certain expenses incurred during resolution efforts. Protection shall be continuous and ongoing until as long as the qualified account(s) are maintained in good status or until the program is otherwise terminated.

Additional identity protection product and service information can be found at www.identityfraud.com/cacu.

*No cost coverage applies to Primary member/Primary account holder on CommunityAmerica checking accounts only.

**Coverage begins on 7/1/2005 for CommunityAmerica checking account holders.

If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, please follow the steps outlined below:

1. If you are a member of CommunityAmerica Credit Union or Yellow Financial Credit Union AND have a checking account with the credit union, please contact Identity Fraud, Inc. anytime day or night by calling toll-free at 1-866-4ID-FRAUD (866-443-3728) as soon as possible. Personal advocates will assist members throughout the entire recovery process.

2. Contact the fraud department at any one of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file.

a. Equifax – 1-800-525-6285 or http://www.equifax.com

b. Experian – 1-800-EXPERIAN (397-3742) or http://www.experian.com

c. TransUnion – 1-800-680-7289 or http://www.transunion.com

3. Close the accounts that you know or believe have been compromised or opened fraudulently.

4. File a police report. Obtain a copy of the police report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.

5. File your complaint with the FTC. The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations. Filing a complaint also helps the government to learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having so that they can better assist you. The FTC may be contacted by phone at 1-877-IDTHEFT or by visiting their website for more information http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/index.html.

6. It is also a good idea to contact the Social Security Administration’s Fraud Hotline and your local U.S. Postal Inspector if you have had checks stolen or believe that you are a victim of identity theft. Their contact information is listed below:

Social Security Administration’s Fraud Hotline U.S. Postal Inspector

P.O. Box 17768 www.usps.gov/websites/depart/inspect

Baltimore, MD 21235 See your local telephone directory

www.ssa.gov/oig

1-800-269-0271