Citizens Bank - Identity Theft Resources

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.

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	Member FDIC	NOTICE OF CHANGES IN TEMPORARY FDIC INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR TRANSACTION ACCOUNTS All funds in a “noninterest-bearing transaction account” are insured in full by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from December 31, 2010, through December 31, 2012. This temporary unlimited coverage is in addition to, and separate from, the coverage of at least $250,000 available to depositors under the FDIC’s general deposit insurance rules. The term “noninterest-bearing transaction account” includes a traditional checking account or demand deposit account on which the insured depository institution pays no interest. It also includes Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (“IOLTAs”). It does not include other accounts, such as traditional checking or demand deposit accounts that may earn interest, NOW accounts and money-market deposit accounts. For more information about temporary FDIC insurance coverage of transaction accounts, visit www.fdic.gov. NOTICE: Citizens Bank is not responsible for and has no control over the subject matter, content, information, or graphics of the web sites that have links here. Please contact us with any concerns or comments.