UME - Garrett County Office
1916 Maryland Highway
Mt. Lake Park, MD 21550
TEL: 301-334-6960
FAX: 301-334-6961
www.extension.umd.edu/garrett-county
News Release
For Publication: Thursday, April 30, 2015
From: Lynn Little, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences
University of Maryland Extension
Your Information is Valuable - Don’t be a victim of Identity Theft
Your personal information is valuable to you and other people. Protect your identity by
protecting your information. Identity theft can make it hard for you to get credit, a job, a
place to live, or utilities.
Identity theft occurs when someone gets and uses your personal identifying
information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without
your permission and uses this information to commit fraud or other crimes.
Identity theft takes many forms. Thieves may have rummaged through your trash,
found a bank statement, and misused your checking account. Maybe they rented an
apartment using your name. Maybe someone got a credit card using your identity and
credit history, and bought expensive electronic equipment. You may not have
discovered this until months later when your loan application was rejected or when you
noticed charges on your credit card statement that you didn't make.
What Can you do?
At home, keep your financial records, Social Security and Medicare cards in a safe
place. Shred papers that contain your personal or medical information.
Protect your Social Security number, credit card and debit card numbers, PINs,
passwords and other personal info. Only give your Social Security number if you must.
Ask if you can use another kind of identification.
On the computer use passwords that are not easy to guess. Use numbers and
symbols when you can. Do not respond to emails or other messages that ask for
personal information. Do not put personal information on a computer in a public place,
like the library.
The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not
discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or
mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information,
political affiliation, and gender identity or expression.
Read your bills and monthly account statements and check your credit. When you get
your account statements and health insurance explanation of benefits, read them for
accuracy. Watch for things you did not buy, withdrawals you did not make, a change
of address you did not expect or bills that stop coming. You should recognize what
information is there, if not it might mean someone stole your identity.
Once a year, get your credit report for free from AnnualCreditReport.com or 1-877-3228228. The law entitles you to one free report each year from each credit reporting
company (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). Read your reports carefully. Look for
mistakes or accounts you do not recognize. This could mean someone stole your
identity. If you see something you don’t recognize you will be able to deal with it.
Safeguard your incoming and outgoing mail. Take mail out of your mailbox as soon as
possible.
Limit the confidential information in your wallet incase it gets lost or stolen.
If you are a victim or suspect identity theft, act quickly:
• Cancel your affected accounts.
• File a police report.
• Call the credit bureaus and place a fraud alert on your name and social security
number.
• Call the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-382-4357. You can also go online:
ftc.gov/complaint
To learn more visit Federal Trade Commission ftc.gov/idtheft. To learn more about
being safe, secure and responsible online visit OnGuardOnline.gov.
University of Maryland Extension (UME) provides educational programs and problemsolving assistance related to agriculture, natural resources, nutrition, finance, 4-H, and
youth development. Contact your Garrett County office of UME at 301-334-6960 or visit
us at www.garrett.umd.edu