"At no cost at all, there are easy measures that you can take to prevent identity thieves from taking advantage of your good name. The first step is to order your three free annual credit reports," Rell said.
The Governor noted that residents may get one free copy of their credit report every 12 months from each of the three major credit bureaus.
"To track your accounts over a year, you may want to order a free report from one credit agency now, one in a few months from a second agency, and in nine to twelve months, contact the third agency for your free report," the Governor said.
The Federal Trade Commission brochure explains your rights and how to order a free annual credit report.
"Nearly every week, we hear about data being lost or stolen from data files, so consumers need to take charge of safeguarding their information and their credit as much as possible. I suggest carefully monitoring the balances of your financial accounts," Rell said. "If you notice unexplained charges or withdrawals, you should not assume that there's been a mistake and do nothing. Always follow up with the business or institution to find out."
Other indications of identity theft include: failing to receive bills or other mail, which may signal an address change by the identity thief, receiving credit cards for which you did not apply, being denied credit for no apparent reason, or receiving calls or letters from debt collectors or businesses about merchandise or services you did not buy. Go to the Department of Consumer Protection's Web site to learn more.
Identity theft tops the list of complaints to the Federal Trade Commission, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the roughly 635,000 consumer fraud complaints filed each year. The FBI estimates that between 500,000 to 700,000 Americans become new identify theft victims each year.
