Has someone used your personal information to open accounts, steal your tax refund, or file fake health insurance claims? That’s identity theft. It can happen to anyone, but simple steps can help lessen the chance it will happen to you. (https://consumer.ftc.gov/features/identity-theft-awareness-week)
Resources:
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - ftc.gov/IDTheft
IRS (Tax-related identity theft)- https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-central
New York State Attorney General - https://ag.ny.gov/resources/individuals/credit-lending/identity-theft
Social Security Administration, Identity Theft and Your Social Security Number - https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10064.pdf
USA.gov - https://www.usa.gov/identity-theft
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (Medical Identity Theft) - https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/consumer-alerts/medical-identity-theft/
U.S. Department of Justice - https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/identity-theft/identity-theft-and-identity-fraud
Review your credit report on a regular basis!
Free weekly online credit reports are available from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Credit reports play an important role in your financial life and we encourage you to regularly check your credit history. https://www.annualcreditreport.com/
Identity Theft Basics - https://www.annualcreditreport.com/protectYourIdentity.action