The first week in February is ID THEFT Awareness week.  With Boise Police seeing an increase in ID theft reports, we want to share with you 5 tips to help secure your ID.

Tip 1 – Check your Credit – you can do so once per year for free through the 3 major credit bureaus.  Go to www.annualcreditreport.com .  Monitoring your credit is a great way to quickly see when your identity has been used to create fraudulent accounts.

Tip 2 – Consider Freezing your Credit – freezing your credit will help prevent new accounts from being opened under your social security number if it has been compromised.  You can go to the website for each credit bureau and follow their instructions or give each of them a call.

https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/

1-800-685- 1111.

https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze

1-888-397-3742

https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html

1-888-909-8872

Tip 3 – Opt out of unsolicited mail and email – To stop receiving preapproved offers in the mail and unsolicited mail and email from national companies, you can opt out by going to the websites.

Preapproved offers: https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT

Mail and email: https://www.dmachoice.org/

One less worry of criminals stealing your mail along with your identity and signing up for accounts in your name.  (You can also sign up with the USPS to see what mail they are delivering before it arrives.)

Tip 4 – Don’t carry sensitive information (like your social security card) in your wallet or purse.  Keep it locked up at home.

Tip 5 – Be careful who you share your personal info with.  Don’t give out personal information about you or any member of your family to unverified sources through email, phone or via social media.