Identity Theft
Identity theft can happen to anyone. Once you become a
victim it could take many hours trying to get your identity
back and your financial matters straightened out. OCCU will
never contact you by e-mail or telephone requesting personal
information.
Monitoring your accounts, shredding your mail, treating
unsolicited e-mail requests for personal information with
suspicion and contacting the actual business that supposedly
sent the e-mail to verify if it is genuine is just a few
of the things you can do to protect your identity.
If you feel that you have become a victim of identity theft,
Call the national credit bureaus to place a fraud alert
in your file. File a report with your local police or law
enforcement agency. Close any accounts you know or think
have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. You can
also receive free confidential counseling by calling Call
for Action at 1-866-IDHOTLINE or go to the www.callforaction.org
to request assistance.
The law allows all consumers to order one free credit report
from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus once a
year. You can order by calling 1-877-322-8228 or by visiting
www.annualcreditreport.com.
Take advantage of the Federal trade Commission’s
(FTC’s) ID Theft Affidavit when disputing new unauthorized
accounts. It is a special tool developed to help simplify
the ID theft reporting process for consumers. The Affidavit
is a standard form that can be used by victims to report
the same information to different companies, where an account
has been opened and or used under the victim’s name.
For a copy of the ID Theft Affidavit, visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft,
or call 1-877-438-4338.
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