Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rotary hears tips to avoid ID thefts

Identity theft has become an increasingly common and important part of daily life. That subject was the topic of discussion during a recent meeting of the Prescott Rotary Club with speaker Stephen Swetz of the Arkansas Attorney General!&s office presenting facts and ways of protecting against the crime.

According to Swetz, there are some common mistakes that make identity theft much easier than it should be. For example, a woman who leaves her purse in a shopping cart need turn away only for a few seconds to find the purse !V and many items of identification - missing. Once a thief has access to important numbers !V social security, bank account, driver!&s license and phone !V the rest is simple.

Swetz said there are some ways to protect against identity theft. Among the tips were:

^Never give your information to someone who calls you. As an example, Swetz said that a person, claiming to be a credit card representative asking for the identification number from the credit card isn!&t legitimate. He said it!&s acceptable to give out that information only if you made the call.

^Don!&t include your phone number and driver!&s license number on your checks. If the checks are lost or stolen, that provides two more pieces of vital information for a criminal.

^Watch for people behind you in line while you are using a credit or debit card. That person may be taking a photo of the card which could then be used to make online purchases.

^Consumers should keep an eye on credit reports to check for unauthorized or incorrect activity.

Swetz said there are some major differences between credit cards and debit cards, including the fact that consumers must object to incorrect debit card charges within two days whereas they have two months to object to credit card charges.

Swetz said representatives of the AG!&s office are available to present information on identity theft, scams, Internet safety and other topics to any group, including schools. For information, call 800-448-3014.