Identity Theft & Fraud

Identity theft and fraud can happen when someone uses your name, social security number, credit card number, or any other personally identifiable information. Learn more about common types of identity theft below.

Tax Identity Theft - Criminals use sophisticated scams to get their hands on your information. Later, they may file a return and claim a refund. Some ways they may try to get your information are from phone calls or text messages that look like they're from the Internal Revenue Service. They may also try emails that look like they're from the IRS. These are called "phishing attacks," and the goal is to get you to provide personal information or click fake websites and install malware (malicious software) on your computer.

Child Identity Theft - Adults often know they should check their credit reports regularly, but what if you're a kid? Scammers sometimes use children's Social Security numbers and other information to open new accounts, apply for government benefits, take out loans, and more. The child may not know their information has been used to run up debt in their name until it's time to apply for school or car loans. Keep your child’s personal information safe. This includes birth date, address and social security number.

Senior Identity Theft - Seniors may struggle with tax fraud, accounts being taken over, medical identity theft, and more. Seniors can be more vulnerable to identity theft scams because they're often more trusting, less likely to monitor their financial accounts, have greater savings, or don't know what threats to look out for. This could result in greater financial loss, with little knowledge on how to address it and little money to fall back on.

ATM Skimming - Thieves will secretly attach electronic devices to ATM's to capture numbers when customers swipe their cards. This may include a tiny camera to record the PIN number a customer enters for the transaction. The skimming device may be taped over the card reader.

Protecting Online Information
Cyber criminals continue to become more savvy in their tactics to steal your information. Use these tips to protect yourself.