If Someone Loses a Check but Its Posted Anyway Do You Have to Pay Them Again

Learn what identity theft is, how to protect yourself against it, and how to know if someone stole your identity.

• What Is Identity Theft?
• How To Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft
• How To Know if Someone Stole Your Identity
• Monitoring Services, Recovery Services, and Identity Theft Insurance

What Is Identity Theft?

Identity theft is when someone uses your personal or fiscal information without your permission.

They might steal your proper name and address, credit card, or depository financial institution account numbers, Social Security number, or medical insurance account numbers. And they could use them to

• purchase things with your credit cards
• get new credit cards in your name
• open a phone, electricity, or gas account in your name
• steal your taxation refund
• use your health insurance to get medical care
• pretend to exist yous if they are arrested

How To Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft

Taking steps to protect your personal information tin can help you lot avert identity theft. Here's what you tin can practise to stay ahead of identity thieves.

Protect documents that have personal data

Proceed your financial records, Social Security and Medicare cards, and whatever other documents that have personal information in a safe place. When you determine to go rid of those documents, shred them before you throw them away. If you don't have a shredder, look for a local shred day, or use a marker to block out business relationship numbers.

If yous get statements with personal information in the post, take your postal service out of the mailbox as soon equally you can.

Ask questions earlier giving out your Social Security number

Some organizations need your Social Security number to identify you lot. Those organizations include the IRS, your bank, and your employer. Organizations like these that do demand your Social Security number won't call, e-mail, or text you to ask for it.

Other organizations that might ask you for your Social Security number might not really demand information technology. Those organizations include a medical provider, a company, or your child'southward school. Inquire these questions earlier you give them your Social Security number:

• Why practise you need it?
• How will you protect it?
• Can you use a different identifier?
• Tin can yous use only the last 4 digits of my Social Security number?

Protect your information from scammers online and on your phone

If you're logging in to an online account, use a strong password.

Add multi-factor hallmark for accounts that offer it. Multi-factor authentication offers extra security past requiring 2 or more credentials to log in to your business relationship. The additional credentials yous need to log in to your business relationship fall into two categories: something you have — like a passcode you get via text message or an hallmark app, or something you are — like a scan of your fingerprint, your retina, or your face. Multi-gene authentication makes it harder for scammers to log in to your accounts if they do become your username and countersign.

Practice non give your personal information to someone who calls, emails, or texts you. It could be a scammer trying to steal your data.

How To Know if Someone Stole Your Identity

In addition to taking steps to protect your information, it pays to know how to tell if someone stole your identity. There are things you can exercise yourself to detect identity theft. There also are companies that sell credit and identity monitoring services.

What you lot can do to detect identity theft

Here'south what you tin can practise to spot identity theft:

• Track what bills yous owe and when they're due. If you finish getting a pecker, that could exist a sign that someone changed your billing accost.
• Review your bills.Charges for things yous didn't buy could exist a sign of identity theft. So could a new bill yous didn't await.
• Check your bank account statement.Withdrawals you didn't make could be a sign of identity theft.
• Go and review your credit reports. Accounts in your proper noun that y'all don't recognize could be a sign of identity theft. Here's how y'all can get your free credit reports.

If you discover that someone is misusing your personal data, visit IdentityTheft.gov to report and recover from identity theft.

Monitoring Services, Recovery Services, and Identity Theft Insurance

Many companies sell identity theft protection services that may include credit monitoring, identity monitoring, identity recovery services, and identity theft insurance. These services likewise might be offered by your

• depository financial institution or credit union
• credit card provider
• employer's benefits program
• insurance company

Credit monitoring services

Credit monitoring services browse activity that shows up on your credit reports. They might monitor activity at one, two, or all three of the major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Credit monitoring services volition usually alert yous when

• a visitor checks your credit history
• a new loan or credit card account appears on your credit reports
• a creditor or debt collector says your payment is late
• public records bear witness that you lot filed for defalcation
• someone files a lawsuit against you lot
• your credit limit changes
• your personal information, like your proper noun, accost, or phone number, changes

Credit monitoring services will not alert you when

• someone withdraws coin from your banking company account
• someone uses your Social Security number to file a revenue enhancement return and collect your refund

If you're considering using a credit monitoring service, here are some questions y'all can enquire them:

• How oftentimes do you bank check credit reports for changes?
• Which of the 3 credit bureaus do yous monitor?
• Is there a limit to how oft I tin review my credit reports?
• Will I be charged each time I review my credit reports?
• Are other services included, like access to my credit score?

Identity monitoring services

Companies that offer identity monitoring services check databases that collect different types of data to see if they contain new or inaccurate information about you lot. Those could exist a sign that someone is using your personal information. These services tin detect uses of your personal information that won't show upwardly on your credit written report.

Identity monitoring services may tell you lot when your information shows upwards in

• a change of accost request
• courtroom or arrest records
• orders for new utility, cable, or wireless services
• an application for a payday loan
• a request to cash a check
• on social media
• on websites that identity thieves use to trade stolen information

Most identity monitoring services will not warning yous if someone uses your information to

• file a revenue enhancement return and collect your refund
• go Medicare benefits
• go Medicaid benefits
• get welfare benefits
• merits Social Security benefits
• claim unemployment benefits

Identity recovery services

Companies that sell credit and identity monitoring services also may offer identity recovery services to assistance you fix any damage caused past identity theft. These services may be included or toll extra. Some of the services they offer may be things you can do on your ain for piddling or no toll.

Identity recovery services typically give you access to counselors or case managers who volition assist you recover your identity. They may

• help you write letters to creditors and debt collectors
• place a freeze on your credit report to preclude an identity thief from opening new accounts in your name
• guide you lot through documents you have to review

Some services volition represent you in dealing with creditors or other institutions if you formally grant them authority to human action on your behalf.

Identity theft insurance

Companies that sell monitoring services likewise may offer identity theft insurance. These services may be included or cost actress.

Identity theft insurance may cover

• out-of-pocket expenses direct associated with reclaiming your identity, like
  • the cost of copying documents
  • postage costs for sending documents
  • costs for getting documents notarized
• wages you lost
• legal fees you paid

Identity theft insurance generally won't reimburse you for coin stolen or financial loss resulting from the theft. Most policies won't pay if your loss is covered past your homeowner'southward or renter'southward insurance. If yous're considering getting identity theft insurance, ask near the deductible and observe out what's covered and what isn't.

Notice out how to recognize the signs of medical identity theft, tax identity theft, and child identity theft.

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Source: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-identity-theft

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