• If you provide your County Treasurer with an assigned driver's license number, your Social Security number will not be printed on your motor vehicle registration receipt, which you are required to carry in your vehicle. In addition, you may consider deleting your middle name or using only your middle initial if you have a common name. Iowa law requires you to disclose your full name and Social Security number to the County Treasurer when applying for an Iowa title or a motor vehicle renewal.
  
  
• Iowa law allows individuals to delete their Social Security number, middle name (you may consider using a middle initial if you have a common name) and telephone number from voter registration records. (Iowa Code section 48A.11) Your local County Auditor's Office can give you or mail you a Voter Registration Application to change the information contained within your voter registration file. Fill out the entire form and simply write "delete" in the areas you want to protect from public disclosure. This form is also available in most McLeod, Qwest Dex, Telecom, or Yellow Book telephone books in the government listings.

3. Install a locked mailbox, a front door slot at your residence to reduce mail theft, or use a post office box. When you pay bills, do not leave the envelopes containing your checks at your homes mailbox for the postal carrier to pick up. If stolen, your checks can be altered and then cashed. If stolen, credit card payments contain all the necessary information an identity thief needs. Never write your credit card account number or Social Security number on your checks when making a payment. Due to an increased risk of theft and vandalism, it is best to mail bills and other sensitive items at the post office, rather than from your residence or neighborhood drop boxes.

4. When you order new checks, consider removing "extra" information such as your Social Security number, assigned driver's license number, middle name, and telephone number. The less personal identifying information you make available, the more likely an identity thief will choose an easier target. Do not have new checks sent to your homes mailbox. Pick them up at the bank instead.

Credit cards:

5. Reduce the number of credit cards you actively use to a bare minimum. Carry only one or two of them in your wallet. Cancel all unused accounts. Even though you do not use them, their account numbers are recorded in your credit report, which is full of data that can be used by identity thieves. Cut up the unused card, return it to the credit card issuer and request that the account by "closed at customer's request".

6. Keep a list or photocopy of all your credit cards, account numbers, expiration dates, and telephone numbers of the customer service and fraud departments in a secure place (not your wallet or purse) so you can quickly contact your creditors in case your cards have been lost or stolen. Do the same with your bank accounts.

7. Never give out your credit card number or other personal information over the telephone unless you have a trusted business relationship with the company and YOU HAVE INITIATED THE CALL. Identity thieves have been known to call their victims with a fake story that goes something like this: "Today is your lucky day! You have been chosen by the Publishers Consolidated Sweepstakes to receive a free trip to the Bahamas. All we need is your credit card number and expiration date to verify you as the lucky winner." Identity thieves tell you they are the IRS, your credit card fraud department, the hospital emergency room, or anyone else they can pretend to be to "panic" you in to giving up your personal information.

8. Always take credit card and ATM receipts with you. Never toss them in a public trash container.

9. You will receive "Privacy Notices" once a year from businesses that you have a financial relationship with. The Privacy Notice tells you whether the business shares information that it knows about you with other businesses. In many cases, if you fail to respond to the Privacy Notice you are allowing that business to share, sell, or trade YOUR personal information to ANYONE! So the next time you receive a Privacy Notice, read the back page and make an affirmative decision on whether you want that business to share your personal information.

10. If your credit card issuer sends random issue convenience checks, request (in writing) to be removed from the mailing list. Credit card convenience checks are easy prey for identity thieves to steal and use while, often times, the consumer is unaware that the random checks were even issued. Your credit card billing statement should contain a different address for "correspondence" to the issuer. Do not send your requests to the same address where you send your credit card payments.

11. Watch the mail when you are expecting a new credit card that you have applied for or a reissued credit card that has expired. Immediately contact the issuer if the credit card does not arrive.

12. One of the benefits for consumers using the Internet, a global network of interlinked computer networks, is the ability to purchase products and services around the clock electronically from the convenience of their home or office. One of the drawbacks is the potential for fraud and deception. Be careful when using a credit card or before providing personal information (such as your Social Security number or date of birth) on the Internet. Read the browser's and the merchant's security and/or privacy statement. Look for the words Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) to establish if the website is encrypted, which means that is secure from unauthorized parties. Look for the symbols of a padlock or key in the lower right hand corner of your browser window (whether you see a padlock or a key depends on which browser you are using). If the padlock or the key are unbroken, the website is secure. Check to see if the web address includes an "s" for example https://. The "s" indicates that the website contains SSL or SET and is secure.

Passwords and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs):

13. Avoid using common, easy to guess passwords and PINs such as the last four digits of your Social Security number, your birth date, middle name, mother's maiden name, pet's name, address, consecutive numbers, or anything else that could be discovered easily by thieves.

14. Ask your financial institution to add extra security protection to your account at no charge to you. Most will allow you to use an additional code (a number or word) when accessing your account. Do not use the common passwords and PINs listed above.

15. Memorize all of your passwords. Don't record them on anything in your wallet or purse.

16. Shield your hand when using your PIN at an ATM, a point of sale terminal at the store, or when making long distance phone calls with your phone card. "Shoulder surfers" may be spying nearby with binoculars or a video camera.

Social Security numbers:

17. Protect your Social Security number. Release it only when when required by law (such as tax forms, employment records, banking/stock/property transactions, driver's/marriage/professional license applications, etc.) or when in your best interest. If a government agency requests important personal information, including your Social Security number, a Privacy Act notice should accompany the request. (5 United States Code section 552a(e)(3)) This notice will explain whether disclosure of such information is required or requested, the use that will be made of the information, and what will happen if you refuse to provide all or any part of the information. Your Social Security number is the key to most of your personal records such as your financial accounts, medical and insurance records, and government files making it a prime target of identity thieves. You may wish to utilize an "assigned" driver's license number rather than your Social Security number whenever possible.

18. Do not have your Social Security number pre-printed on your checks. Ask that merchants not hand-write your Social Security number on your checks because of the risk of fraud. Currently, there is no law against a merchant requiring you to divulge your Social Security number before accepting a check, so you may need to be assertive. Offering an assigned driver's license number is usually an adequate substitute.

19. Review your annual Social Security Statement for inaccuracies or fraud. You will receive your Statement from the Social Security Administration automatically each year about three months before your birthday if you:

• are age 25 or older
• have worked in Social Security-covered employment or self-employment,
• are not yet receiving benefits
• have a current mailing address on file
  

If you have not received your Statement or have questions, check the website, write, or call:

Responsible information handling:

20. Carefully review your credit card statements and phone bills, including cellular phone bills, for unauthorized charges or fraudulent use. Be aware that under current laws, your local telephone company is obliged to let other carriers use their billing systems for a fee. More and more unscrupulous third parties are billing consumers for goods such as special services, calling plans, or memberships that they did not order and do not want (commonly called "cramming"). Many unauthorized charges result from "free" trial offers which are always followed by some type of charge following the brief trial period... because the goods or services are never really "free". Scrutinize your local, long distance and cellular telephone bills each month for fraudulent or unauthorized charges. Be aware that some long distance telephone companies resort to deceptive tactics to switch your service without authorization (commonly called "slamming"). You may contact your local telephone company to verify your long distance carrier and request a "freeze" on your account so it cannot be changed without your specific authorization using a password.

21. Do not toss credit card convenience checks or pre-approved credit offers in your trash or recycling bin without first tearing them into small pieces or shredding them. They can be used by "dumpster divers" to cash the checks or order credit cards in your name and mail them to their address. Do the same with other sensitive information like credit card receipts, banking statements, utility bills, and so on. Home shredders can be purchased in most office supply and discount stores for minimal cost. By adopting responsible information handling practices, you can reduce the risk of fraud.

22. When you fill out credit or loan applications, find out how the company disposes of them. If you are not convinced that they store them in locked files and/or shred all paper records before discarding them, take your business elsewhere. Some auto dealerships, department stores, car rental agencies, and video stores have been known to be careless with customer applications or an employee at the business with "insider access" may retrieve your personal information to sell or use fraudulently. When you pay by credit card, ask the business how it stores and disposes of the transaction slip. Avoid paying by a check or debit card if you think the business does not use adequate safeguards.

23. Store your canceled checks in a safe place. In the wrong hands, they could reveal a lot of about you, including information about your other accounts by looking through the payments you have made, so avoid writing individual account numbers on the "memo" portion of each check. Never permit your credit card number to be written onto your checks. Iowa law prohibits a merchant from recording your credit card number or expiration date as a condition of acceptance of a check for the sale of goods or services. Iowa law does NOT prohibit a merchant from requesting that you display a credit card, and it allows the merchant to record only the name and issuer (bank name) of the credit card. However, a credit card number may be requested and recorded in lieu of a deposit to secure payment in the event of loss, damage, or default. (Iowa Code section 537.8101)

Identity Theft Part 3. . .