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From the desk of Jason Balderama, CISO, County of Marin
With various reports of data breaches involving Social Security numbers in the news, it is important to protect your personal information. Identity thieves can use your Social Security Number and other personal information to apply for loans and credit cards and open accounts in your name.
Here are some tips on how you can keep your personal and confidential information secure.
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- Visit IdentityTheft.gov to make a report and get a recovery plan. IdentityTheft.gov is a one-stop resource managed by the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency. Or you can call 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338).
- File a report with local law enforcement and keep a copy for your records in case problems arise in the future.
- File an online report with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov. Its mission is to receive, develop, and refer cybercrime complaints to law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
- Notify 1 of the 3 major credit bureaus and consider adding a credit freeze, fraud alert, or both to your credit report. The company you call is required to contact the others.
- Equifax at 1-800-525-6285.
- Experian at 1-888-397-3742.
- TransUnion at 1-800-680-7289.
- Regularly check your credit report for anything unusual. Free credit reports are available online at AnnualCreditReport.com.
- Contact the IRS to prevent someone else from using your Social Security number to file a tax return to receive your refund. Visit Identity Theft Central or call 1-800-908-4490.
Create or sign in to your personal my Social Security account to check for any suspicious activity. If you have not yet applied for benefits:
- You should not find any benefit payment amounts, and you should be able to access your Social Security Statement and view future benefit estimates.
- Review your Statement to verify the accuracy of the earnings posted to your record to make sure no one else is using your Social Security number to work.
If you receive benefits, you can add blocks to your personal my Social Security account:
- The eServices block prevents anyone, including you, from viewing or changing your personal information online.
- The Direct Deposit Fraud Prevention block prevents anyone, including you, from enrolling in direct deposit or changing your address or direct deposit information through my Social Security or a financial institution (via auto-enrollment).
- Don’t carry your Social Security card with you. Keep it at home in a safe place. Be careful about who you give your number to.
- Change your passwords regularly and use a unique password for each account to prevent hackers from accessing multiple accounts if one password is stolen.
- Add an extra layer of security to your online accounts by using Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
- Be wary of scammers pretending to be Social Security employees. If you get a suspicious call, text, or email about a problem with your Social Security number or account, ignore it, hang up, and don’t respond.
For more information, please visit the Fraud Prevention and Reporting page on the Social Security Administration's web site.
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Copyright © 2024 County of Marin, All rights reserved. |
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Disclaimer
The information provided in Marin CyberSafe News is intended to increase people’s awareness of cybersecurity and to help them behave in a more secure manner. Links in this newsletter are provided because they have information that may be useful. The County of Marin does not warrant the accuracy of any information contained in the links and neither endorses nor intends to promote the advertising of the resources listed herein. The opinions and statements contained in such resources are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the opinions of County of Marin.
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