Identity Theft

A Louisiana private investigator faces up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine after he admitted using Donald Trump's Social Security number in an effort to find Trump's tax returns.

Although Trump is a high profile citizen, misuse of Social Security numbers can lead to similar charges.

It's believed 143 million Social Security numbers were stolen by hackers in the Equifax data hack. To prevent a hacker from assuming your identity, you may want to get a login at SSA.gov.

1. Alert the FTC's web site IdentityTheft.gov.

2. Request a credit freeze from the three major credit reporting agencies

3. Contact the fraud department of any company or agency that you think may have been contacted by the fraudster

If you receive an email from "Equifax", be very careful about clicking any links in the email. It could be a phishing attack.

As a result of the recent Equifax leak of 143 million Social Security numbers, criminals see the leak as an excuse to tempt people into clicking on "helpful" links from Equifax.

Be very careful about clicking links in emails that you receive.

Equifax announced that the names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers of 143 million Americans was stolen.

This link will let you get free credit monitoring and see if you might have been affected :

https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/

Not to overthink this, but if you sign up for the "free credit monitoring", and then that data is stolen, maybe you're just telling the crooks that you're alive, and have some available credit that's worth stealing... :-/

To prevent identity theft, you should not give out your Social Security number unless necessary.

Here are five instances when you should generally not give out your Social Security number :

1. Before you're hired for a job

2. At the doctor's office (unless Medicare or Medicaid)

3. To attend schools or colleges

4. At supermarkets or other retailers

5. When booking travel

The article linked below has details and is well worth reading.

Citizens across the country are receiving calls from an individual posing as a Social Security employee. The caller tells the victim they are due a 1.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase of their Social Security benefits. The impersonator then asks the victim to verify their personal information to receive the increase. Reports show the calls have been coming from a phone number with a 323 area code. This call is fraudulent.