This is a Public Service Announcement

1. This is a Public Service Announcement Brought to you by Malik Gomes

2. Sponsored and funded by FICO

3. Is your identity safe? Identity theft is a common theft that happens very often. Identity theft is making illegal purchases by stealing someone’s Social security number, credit card number, and other personal information.

4. It is important to know how threatening identity theft is to your credit. In fact every three seconds someone is a victim of identity theft. What is identity theft? When you get your identity stolen the thief can use your money to buy many things and cause you to get into thousands of dollars of debt.

5. The right things to do when possibly having your identity stolen

6. Marry gets her purse stolen, and the thief uses the information she finds to steal Marry’s identity. She realizes her identity has been stolen. She contacts the authorities. Then she cancels her card. As a result her credit is perfectly safe, and Marry never went into debt. Always remember to keep your purse close to you and hold on to it so this wont happen to you.

7. John received a suspicious looking e-mail from a “creditor”. He reviewed the e-mail which asked him for his social security number, and other personal information. He knows the credit card company already has all the information they are asking for. Immediately knew it was a fraudulent e-mail, deleted it, blocked the sender, and didn’t send the information. As a result he didn’t receive anymore suspicious e-mails from this “creditor” and his credit stayed perfectly safe. Always remember to block suspicious e-mailers and never give your personal information online unless it is a secured website.

8. The wrong things to do when possibly getting your identity stolen

9. Bob gets his identity stolen by a hacked ATM. He doesn’t realize his identity has been stolen, and never notices the unknown payments made on his account. As a result Bob went into over $2,525 dollars in debt. Bob was unable to prove that his identity was stolen, and had to pay off the debt immediately. Never use suspicious random ATMs. Always check ATMs and make sure that there is no card reading equipment.

10. Jane receives a phone call from a supposed creditor, unaware that the caller is an identity thief, she willingly gave out her personal information. As a result the thief was able to use the information to buy over $3,000 dollars in stuff. Which Jane later had to pay off. Never give personal credit information over the telephone. Remember that credit card companies already have all your credit information. Only give information if they confirm your identity.

11. How to avoid getting your identity stolen • Helpful information • Be careful of supposed creditors over the phone • Be careful of supposed creditors over e-mail • Be careful of suspicious ATMs • Hold personal items with important information close • Never give out personal information if you’re not 100% sure it’s your bank

12. How to recover from having your identity stolen • Make sure to straighten things out with your local authorities • Make sure to contact your credit card company • Make sure to ask the credit card company for further steps

13. Remember to keep your credit safe. Thank you