Summary

As new security technologies are implemented to protect our identities and our personal information, there are thousands of new procedures created to breach them.

In this course you learned how federal agencies recommend handling your personal information to avoid the risk of identity theft. The list of the most common places where a violation of your identity can happen include your mail, your wallet, your trash, your home, your work or personal computer. A thief can be anybody, from a family member to a person across the globe. Once a thief has access to your identity records such as your full name, date of birth, or Social Security Number, the thief can create new accounts, access your current accounts, or change information about you. It is crucial that you apply the protective measures listed in the course to guard your identity from thieves. If it's too late to be proactive and your identity has already been stolen, you should follow the guidelines listed in the course. Please contact all the appropriate financial and law enforcement agencies. They will work with you to solve the issue. Also take advantage of your annual free credit report. It can give you valuable information about the state of your credit and your identity.

Do not take your personal security lightly! Use the links and the phone numbers listed throughout the course to seek further help.

The last step to complete the Identity Theft Course is to test your knowledge with a quiz. Just click "Next" to begin your quiz.


Sources

Federal Reserve Board. (2008). Privacy choices for your personal financial information. Retrieved from http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/privacy/default.htm

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. (2009). Plastic Fraud Getting a Handle on Debit and Credit Cards. In Consumer Information. Retrieved from http://www.frbsf.org/publications/consumer/plastic.html

Federal Reserve Board. (2007). Major Consumer Protection Laws. Retrieved from http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/Complaints/laws.htm

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. (2005). Identity Theft. In Consumer Information Publications. Retrieved from http://www.bos.frb.org/consumer/identity/index.htm

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. (2005). Phishing and Pharming: Helping Consumers Avoid Internet Fraud. In Consumer Information, Consumer Publications. Retrieved from http://www.bos.frb.org/consumer/phishpharm/index.htm

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. (2007). Identity Theft Repair Kit. Retrieved from http://www.ago.state.co.us/idtheft/idtrk.pdf

Federal Trade Commission. (2009). Deter Detect Defend, Avoid Identity Theft. from Identity Theft. Retrieved from http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/idtheft/idt01.pdf