You can reduce the risk of becoming a victim of fraud by following the advice below:

• Do not leave personal items in your car, even if it’s your own driveway over night…even if it is locked and has an alarm system.  Many victims could have avoided becoming victims had they not left their wallets, purses, junk mail, etc. in their vehicles while at the grocery store, gym, or parked overnight in their home.

• Do not mail bills from your home mailbox. Take them to a secured US Postal service box

• When ordering new boxes of checks from your bank, have them delivered to your bank, not your home.  Your bank will notify you when they are available to pickup.

• Do not share your PIN code to your debit/credit card with ANYONE

• Don’t use your birth date or mothers maiden name as a password for your accounts

• Avoid writing your account numbers on your checks when paying your credit card bills.  If a criminal steals your monthly bank statement, these cancelled checks will give the criminal all the information he or she needs to commit fraud.

• Protect your social security number.  Be careful to whom you give it.  Do NOT put it or your driver’s license number on your checks

• Shred your credit card receipts and bank statements before throwing away in the trash

• Request credit reports from each of the credit bureaus, checking for discrepancies, on a regular basis