Identity Theft Information

The following suggestions are offered to help educate our members to help in the prevention of becoming a victim of identity theft and to educate our members of what they should do if they become a victim of identity theft. Mercer County Community Federal Credit Union makes no representations or warranties about any third party web site that you may access through the following links. By providing a link to those web sites, Mercer County Community Federal Credit Union does not endorse, adopt, or otherwise accept any responsibility for the content or use of those web sites.

PREVENTION:

• Review credit reports annually(www.annualcreditreport.com)
• Shred confidential documents
• Review all account statements promptly
• Use secure mailboxes to send and receive mail
• Use caution when asked for personal information over the phone or internet
• Be aware of current scam tactics such as "phishing" and "spoofing"
• Never follow a link provided in an email to check out an erroneous charge on your debit or credit card.  Instead log on to your on-line account through your normal method to look up a charge or call your account's customer service number to investigate the problem.
• Legitimate instituitons will never send you an email to update sensitive financial information online.  Call the institutions fraud department if you suspect wrongdoing with your account, your debit or credit card.
• If you are asked about or think that you might be a victim of a particular phishing scam,  you can check the following website to see if it has been reported before and how you can tell if it is legitimate: http://www.antiphishing.org/phishing_archive/phishing_archive.html.  You'll notice that most of the schemes are targeted towards customers of very familar banks, on-line stores, and payment services, including Citibank, US Bank, PayPal, eBay, and Amazon.com.
• You can contact the National Fraud Information Center by visiting www.fraud.org or by calling 800-876-7060.  A "fraud alert" can also be put on your credit report by visiting http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/ or by calling 877-438-4338.

• Place fraud alerts with the three credit bureaus (Experian, Trans Union, & Equifax)
• Check your credit reports
• Review your accounts, use a standard affidavit to report disputes
• Close accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently
• File a police report (and keep a copy of the report for yourself)
• File a complaint with the FTC

For more information on identity theft and to download an affidavit along with the instructions......click on this link http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/. To download a free informational brochure, visit the link http://www.ncua.gov/Publications/brochures/FinancialEducation/ID-THEFT.pdf .  The brochure is a PDF document that you can print out in color.  It provides the answers to what you will need to do if you become a victim, how to protect yourself, and how you can fight identity theft.

NEVER SAVE YOUR PASSWORD TO YOUR DESKTOP! Or allow your web browser to save your user names and passwords! Saving your password to your desktop may seem like a timesaver but it allows others to access your personal information without your permission.

HOW PERSONAL IS YOUR PASSWORD? Avoid using passwords that are relevant to your personal situation or are common words.  Do not use passwords with your phone number, date of birth, or social security number.  Creat passwords that contain letters and numbers that cannot be easily attributed to you.  Change your password every 60 days or as often as you feel comfortable.  Keep in mind that the longer the password, the harder it is to break it.  Also use a combination of upper and lower case letters and numbers.

DON'T OPEN EMAIL FROM UNKNOWN SOURCES. "Phishing" emails are those sent to your email address by cyber criminals who wish to steal your personal information.  Be wary of any email that asks for your PIN numbers, passwords or credit or debit card information.  Keep in mind that an organization will never ask you for this information via e-mail.  Even though these letters often include the real registered logos of legitimate companies that you may already do business with or link to what appears to be the company's website, be aware that these sites are fraudulent "Spoof" websites that are designed only to capture your information for fraudulent purposes.  Most "phishing" emails do not even address you by your proper name because they are "blanket" emails sent out en masse to thousands of potential targets.

READ BETWEEN THE LINES! Emails do not have boundaries.  You may be the recipient of a fraudulent email from any country in the world.  Pay close attention to the finer details of any emails that you receive.  Are there typographical errors or unusual grammatical mistakes within the letter?  Is there a hyperlink in the email that dirests you to a website address that also bears noticeable erros in language and grammar?  Use extreme caution.  Do not input your personal information until you verify the website with your financial institution.

Homeland Security is making available a series of information products targeted for home users and technical experts in businesses and government agencies.  These e-mail products will provide timely information on computer security vulnerabilities, potential impacts and action required to mitigate threats, as well as PC security "best practices" and "how to" guidance. 

The National Cyber Alert System provides timely information about current and emerging threats and vulnerabilities as well as advice about protecting your compputer and networks.  The new National Cyber Alert System security suite of products includes:

• Cyber Security Tips: Targeted at non-technical home and corporate computer users, the bi-weekly Tips provide information on best computer security and "how-to" information. How to Access: Sign up at http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/index.html
• Security Bulletins: Targeted at technical audiences, these bulletins provide bi-weekly summaries of security issues, new vulnerabilities, potential impacts, patches and work-arounds, as well as actions required to mitigate risk. How to Access: Sign up at www.us-cert.gov
• Security Alerts: Available in two forms--regular for non-technical users and advanced for technical users--Cyber Security Alerts provide real-time information about security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits currently occurring. Alerts encourage all users to take rapid action. How to Access: Sign up at http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/alerts/index.html

Clicking on any of these links may take you to a new web site. For purposes of convenience, Mercer County Community Federal Credit Union's site contains links to third party web sites. Mercer County Community Federal Credit Union makes no representations or warranties about any third party web site that you may access through the links. By providing a link to those web sites, Mercer County Community Federal Credit Union does not endorse, adopt, or otherwise accept any responsibility for the content or use of those web sites.