Rose White-Hearn, who works as an advocate for victims of crime in N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office, spoke to the Tryon Kiwanis Club on Dec. 21 about identity theft and scams. She explained that taking a person’s identity is a felony, but it is a crime that is becoming more frequently committed.
According to White-Hearn, the best ways to protect your identity are to:
· Watch your credit report – you can receive free copies each year from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228 to get your free reports.
· Get free security freezes to stop credit reporting agencies from releasing any information about you to new creditors without your approval. To do this online, go to www.ncdoj.gov. To get a security freeze by phone, contact the three major credit bureaus – Equifax Security Freeze at 1-800-685-1111, Experian Security Freeze at 1-866-997-0418 and TransUnion Security Freeze at 1-888-909-8872.
· On your checks, only put your initial for your first name and do not include your address, phone number or driver’s license number. If your checks are stolen, the thief will have little information about you.
· Monitor your finances by checking all charges on your credit card bills for unauthorized charges, limit the number of credit cards you carry and make copies of all credit cards (front and back), keeping the copies in a safe place in case a card is lost or stolen.
· Use automatic deposit for payroll, social security or other federal benefit checks.
· Protect your social security number – do not carry your card with you and give the number out only when absolutely necessary.
· Shred “pre-approved” credit card applications, old bank statements, insurance forms and any unneeded papers that include your personal information.
White-Hearn’s presentation pointed out the importance of being diligent about controlling access to one’s own identity.
Kiwanis Club President Kathy Woodham and club member Marjie Neff thanked White-Hearn for coming. The children’s book “The One and Only” will be donated to a local school in her honor.
– article submitted by Lynn Montgomery