Identity Theft Prevention

All Saints' Episcopal Church

All Saints' Day School

Holy Child Filipino Ministries

Iglesia deTodos los Santos

4201 West Washington Avenue - Las Vegas, NV 89107

(between Decatur and Valley View)

702 878-2373 - Fax: 702 878-1829 - Email the Parish Office

Mabuhay - Welcome - Bienvenidos

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ID THEFT PREVENTION AND INFORMATION

There are several basic things a person can do to minimize the chances of being a victim of identity theft. The following is a list of helpful tips.

� Obtain a copy of your credit report regularly and review it for mistakes or fraudulent accounts.

� Review your credit card and bank statements carefully each month.

� A lways store credit cards and documents with personal data in a secure place.

� Never store credit cards or documents with personal data in your vehicle and minimize what you carry in your wallet or purse.

� Always shred documents with personal information before throwing it away. Use a cross cut shredder.

� Void incorrect receipts and destroy carbons. Always take your receipts with you. Never throw receipts away in public trash containers.

� Do not place outgoing mail in your mail box or community mail box. Always place outgoing mail in a U.S. mail container or take it to the post office.

� Do not give out your personal information over the phone or internet unless you are the one who initiated the contact and you know who you are dealing with.

If you become the victim of identity theft, there are a number of important steps for you to follow. Be prepared to document all unauthorized transactions and to be patient. The process can take a number of months.

The following information in this brochure will assist you in contacting various agencies. Complete the necessary forms and document everything you do.

Step 1 - Contact your bank and other credit card issuers. If the theft involved existing bank accounts (checking and/or savings accounts as well as credit or debit cards) you should take the following steps.

� Put stop payment orders on all outstanding checks that might have been written without your knowledge or permission.

� Close all existing credit card accounts and any account accessible by debit card.

� Open up new accounts protected with a secret password or personnel identification number (PIN). Do not use the same passwords or PINs as on the original accounts.

Do not use common numbers (like birth dates or part of your social security number), or commonly chosen words (such as a child�s, spouse�s, or pet�s name) as a password or PIN.

Step 2 - File a report with the Federal Trade Commission. You can go on-line to file an identity theft complaint with the FTC. Call (877) ID-THEFT or

Go to - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/ . There is an ID theft Affidavit enclose in this packet. Many creditors and major credit reporting bureaus will accept the �ID theft Affidavit� available on this FTC web site. Go to - http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/crddit/affidavit.pdf . If you file on line be sure to make a copy for the investigator that will be contacting you.

Step 2A - File a report on-line with IC3, Internet Crime Complaint Center. You can go on-line and file a complaint about any crime involving the internet with the Internet Crime Complaint Center http://www.ic3.gov/ .

Step 3 - Contact all three major credit reporting bureaus. First, obtain a copy of your credit report and review it carefully. If you are the victim of identity theft, the credit bureaus are required to provide you with a free copy of your credit report. New federal law also allows every person to obtain one free credit report once a year at www.annualcreditreport.com (whether the victim of identity theft or not).

You can contact the each of the credit bureaus as follows:

Equifax ( www.equifax.com )

P.O. Box 740256 Consumer Fraud Division

Atlanta, GA 30374 (800) 525-6285

Experian ( www.experian.com )

P.O. Box 9530 National Consumer Assistance

Allen, TX 75013 (888) 397-3742

Transunion ( www.transunion.com )

P.O. Box 6790 Fraud Victim Assistance Dept.

Fullerton, CA 92634 (800) 680-7289

As you review your credit report, check ALL accounts open and closed and insure that they are ALL your accounts. If not, take necessary action to have the removed from your credit report. Next, check the address portion of the report and insure all addresses are correct. An additional address that you never lived at will be an indicator that a criminal is receiving mail in your name. Last, look at the inquiry page and see who has been looking at your report. Be aware that financial institutions may look at your report before sending you a �you�ve been pre-approved� notice.

Second, request the credit bureaus to place a �fraud alert� on your file. You must then be contacted directly before any new credit is taken out in your name.

Step 4 - Contact all of your creditors by phone and in writing. File the FTC�s ID Theft Affidavit, with each creditor (Some may require that you use their own form of affidavit).

Keep copies of all correspondence and documents exchanged with each creditor. Cancel all existing accounts that may have been compromised and open replacements accounts.

Step 5- Notify the post office. If you suspect that your mail has been stolen or diverted with a false change-of-address request, contact your local post inspector. You can obtain the address and telephone number of your local postal inspector by visiting the United States Postal Service web site at: http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/ .

Step 6- Notify the Social Security Administration. If you suspect that someone is using your social security number to obtain credit or employment, contact the Social Security Administration�s fraud hotline at 1-800-269-0271. To check the accuracy of your work history, order a copy of your Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement ( PEBES) and check it for accuracy. You can obtain a PEBES application at your local Social Security office or you can download one from the Social Security Administration web site: http://www.ssa.gov/online/ssa-7004.pdf .

Step 7 - If you are contacted by a collection agency about a debt for which you are not responsible, immediately notify them that you did not create the debt and that you are a victim of an identity theft. Follow up with the collection agency and creditor in writing.

Step 8 - This is one of your most important steps. Record everything. Make copies of everything. Leave nothing out. Get names and numbers of people you have contacted.

Following are a list of contacts you may need to make. Remember, usually you can get this information faster than the detective because you don�t need a subpoena.

(Organize Your Case) www.idtheftcenter.org .

(Copy of the ID Theft Affidavit) www.consumer.gov/idtheft .

(Opt out) 1-888-567-8688 (cancels creditor solicitations)

(DMV) www.ftc.gov/privacy/protect.htm#Motor .

(Direct Mail Marketing) www.thedma.org/consumers/offmailinglist.html .

(Telemarketing) www.thedma.org/consumers/offtelephonelist.html .

(E-mail) www.dmaconsumers.org/offemaillist.html .

(Stolen checks) Telecheck 1-800-710-9898

Certegy, Inc. 1-800-437-5120

International Check Services 1-800-631-9656

(To find if the identity thief has been passing bad checks in your name, call 1-800-262-7771).

(Mail Theft) www.usps.gov/websites/depart/inspect .