Protect Your Identity

By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2007-10-15 16:59:12.783253-04:00

Identity theft is our nation's fastest growing white-collar crime. It happens when an identity thief obtains some pieces of your personal information. The thief then uses the information about you—without your knowledge—to commit fraud or theft. The identity thief is disguised as you. The trail leads back to you.

District residents are hardly immune. A 2006 Federal Trade Commission Report ranked the DC area first in fraud-related complaints and 16th in identity theft complaints among the country's top 50 metropolitan areas. A July 2007 Washington Post article cited 382 cases of identity theft reported by Washington police in the first 6 months of this year, up from 248 cases for the same period in 2006.

Thankfully, there are things you can do to protect yourself from this scourge. At the top of that list is using care in disposing of personal information—in other words, shredding sensitive documents rather than just tossing them in the garbage. AARP DC highlighted the importance of shredding—and provided an opportunity for free, secure document disposal—at an event co-sponsored by Councilmembers Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) and Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) in Columbia Heights Oct. 3, 2007.

Need help deciding what to shred?

Think about documents such as charge receipts, copies of credit applications, credit card offers and expired charge cards that you no longer need. Consumers are advised to keep certain bank, financial, household and medical documents for a minimum number of years before shredding.

Here's a comprehensive list of what to save—and for how long.

Visit AARP's Scams: Identity Theft site for some other practical tips on keeping your personal information private.

Freeze Your Credit

Another tool for protecting your identity is to freeze your credit. A new law lets District residents lock access to their credit reports by writing to all three major credit agencies—TransUnion, Experian and Equifax—by certified mail. Soon after the law's enactment, the agencies themselves decided to expand this service to consumers nationwide.

You can write to them at:

Equifax Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348

Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion Security Freeze
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

When you request a freeze, you need to provide identifying information such as your name, current and former addresses, Social Security number, and date of birth. Experian additionally requires two items proving residence, such as a copy of your driver license, a utility bill, or bank statement.

For more information on the DC law, contact the Metropolitan Police Department's Identity Theft Squad at (202) 727-4159.

If you need assistance with freezing your credit, you can contact the AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly at (202) 434-2120.

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