[source: noscamnc.gov]

Guard Your Personal Information

Protect Your Social Security Number

• Don’t carry your Social Security card in your wallet.
• Give your Social Security Number (SSN) only when absolutely necessary.
• Ask why a SSN is needed, who has access to it, and how it is kept confidentia.
• Don’t print your SSN or driver’s license number on your checks.
• Shred old bank statements, insurance forms, credit applications, etc.

Finances

• Limit the number of credit cards you carry.
• Watch billing cycles for missing bills and review monthly statements for odd changes. Contact your creditors if a bill doesn’t arrive when expected or includes charges you don’t recognize.
• Use automatic deposits for payroll, social security or other federal benefit checks. To sign up for automatic deposit of social security checks and other federal benefit payments, call (800) 333-1795.
• Keep copied credit cards (front and back) in a safe place in case a card is lost or stolen.
• Destroy receipts that show your entire credit card number. It’s illegal for a business to print the full credit card number on the electronically generated customer’s receipt.
• Review your Social Security Earnings and Benefits Statements for errors in your yearly salary. To order a statement, call (800) 772-1213.
• “Opt out” of sharing your nonpublic personal information or credit report information with other businesses.

Protect Passwords

• Don’t carry your personal identification numbers (PIN) in your wallet or purse.
• Don’t share PINs or passwords, even with close friends or relatives.
• Avoid using easily available information for your PINs or passwords such as your mother’s maiden name, your or your family members’ birth dates, your SSN, phone number or a series of consecutive numbers (i.e., 1, 2, 3, 4).
• Choose a different PIN for each account.

Protect Your Mail

• Call 1 (888) 5-OPT-OUT to stop pre-approved credit card applications.
• Place outgoing mail into a locked mailbox such as a blue postal service box.
• Don’t leave incoming mail sitting in an unlocked mailbox.
• Cut down on junk mail by sending a letter with your first and last name, home address and signature to Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, PO Box 643, Carmel, NY 10512. There may be a one dollar fee for processing.

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