Identity Theft. It's all over the news, and many people wonder what they can do to better protect themselves from having their identity stolen. Citizens Bank is putting together a list of material which may help you to better educate yourself about identity theft and the steps you can take today to protect your identity.

Helpful Links

The FDIC Identity Theft Information Page

The FDIC created their ID theft page to inform consumers about available information about identity theft.

IDtheft.gov

IDTheft.gov is your one stop resource for government information about identity theft

Identity Theft Resource Center

The Identity Theft Resource Center is a nonprofit, nationally respected organization dedicated exlusively to the understanding and prevention of identity theft.

The Department of Justice

Information from the Department of Justice concerning protecting your identity at home and while you travel.

Steps You Can Take Today

There are many steps consumers can take to protect themselves against identity theft:

• Shred all materias which contain personal, non-public information such as Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, or anything else someone could potentially use to steal your identity
• Never use your debit card online. Crebit cards offer buyer protections that are unavailable to debit card users.
• Register for and use Internet Banking and Electronic Statements

To many people that last item makes no sense, but please allow me to explain. Internet banking and electronic statements offer many advantages that traditional banking and paper statements do not.

• With internet banking, you can can check the activity on your account at any time, any day, even when the bank is closed.
• You are much less likely to overdraw your account if you are always aware of your balance and outstanding items.
• With internet banking you can have email alerts sent to you notifying you of specific types of transactions or if your balance falls below a certain point.
• Since you are immediately aware of any unusual activity in your account, you can immediately report any illegal or suspicious activity to Citizens Bank.
• When you receive electronic statements, you receive them the day they are cut instead of having to wait for them to arrive in the mail.
• Electronic statements reduce the amount of paper used, making them better for the environment and reducing cost for everyone.

There are several disadvantages to receiving paper statements.

• They can be delayed or lost in the mail.
• They can be used for criminal purposes if they are intercepted or found.
• They use a lot of paper and cost more to print and to mail.
• If you have unusual or fraudulant activity on your account, you may not find it for days or even weeks after it occurred.

You can register for internet banking by looking in the upper right-hand corner of any page on the Citizens Bank website and clicking the link which says, "Enroll". To register for electronic statements, see any CSR today.