Safeguard
Your Identity
Up to 500,000 individuals are victims each year of identity theft, a fast-growing
form of fraud. Fortunately, a few simple steps can help ensure you stay
out of these statistics. "Identity theft" or "account takeover fraud"
involves criminals stealing a person's personal information. The crooks
assume a person's identity, apply for credit in his or her name, run up
huge bills, stiff creditors and generally wreck the victim's credit record.
At Union Bank, we put a combination of safeguards in place to protect
customers, including employee training, rigorous security standards, data
encryption and fraud detection. You can take these steps to avoid becoming
a victim.
- Don't give your Social Security or account numbers to
anyone over the phone unless you initiated the call.
- Tear up receipts, old bank statements and unused credit
card offers before throwing them away. Crooks could steal information
from your trash and use it to get credit in your name.
- Review your bank and credit card statements as soon as
you receive them to check for unauthorized transactions.
- Protect your PINs and computer passwords; use a combination
of letters and numbers and change them often. Never carry this information
with you!
- Order copies of your credit report once a year to ensure
accuracy. Call any of the three national credit reporting agencies:
Trans Union (800-888-4213), Equifax (800-685-1111) and Experian (888-397-3742).
- Report any suspected fraud to your bank and credit card
issuers immediately so they can start work to close accounts and clear
your name right away.
By law you are only liable for the first $50
of unauthorized charges against a credit card. Still, restoring your identity
can be a tremendous inconvenience. It's worth your while to exercise a
little preventative maintenance. Protect yourself against this terrible
crime. For more personal finance tips, browse this section of our web
site or visit the Amercian Bankers Association's Consumer Connection at
http://www.aba.com.
