BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Identity theft is an ongoing problem across the U.S. It’s also a concern locally. One report found that since 2019, identity theft has increased by 135% in Louisiana. It also revealed that in 2019, our state reported 24,898 cases.
Though identity theft is a problem, local and federal authorities are cracking down on scammers and bringing them to justice.
What can we do to keep our personal information from being stolen and used by criminals? The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office says there are a number of things we can do to protect ourselves.
Make payments cautiously
Most of us make multiple purchases each day. In the morning, we might stop by our favorite coffee shop. There’s a lunch break at a local restaurant, then we pop into the store to purchase cat food on our way home from work. While we’re sleeping, Entergy or Demco might automatically deduct a monthly payment from the account.
Though payments like the ones above may be so routine they’re carried out as second nature, EBRSO says we should be careful anytime we make purchases.
The sheriff’s office says it’s best to avoid using a credit card or checking account number over the phone to make a payment. The person on the other end of the line could be a scammer.
EBRSO also cautions against using checks to make in-store purchases. Checks have all of the information a scammer would need to steal someone’s identity, such as the person’s name, address, account and routing numbers.
When making in-store purchases, EBRSO suggests paying close attention to the person running your card at the time of purchase. Make sure they’re not copying the number or doing anything suspicious.
The agency also says, “When paying bills, never place your checks in your mailbox and raise the flag for the letter carrier. This notifies thieves that you have checks in your mailbox that they can steal.”
It adds, “If you must mail your bill payments, place them in a U.S. Postal Service drop box or deliver them in person to the post office.”
Be vigilant about checking financial statements
If you’re not the type of person to keep track of daily purchases or bills that come via snail mail, it’s not too late to make new habits.
EBRSO says you should request a copy of your credit report annually. Review it carefully and if you find any questionable entries, notify the credit bureau in writing. Ask the bureau for answers until they explain the issue or remove it.
EBRSO suggests making a daily habit of checking all of your accounts and verifying that all of your balances and transactions are accurate. It may be a good idea to complete a more thorough check once a month.
The sheriff’s office says, “If a discrepancy is located, immediately notify the financial institution and report the fraudulent activity to your local law enforcement agency.”
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, if you’re a victim of fraud or identity theft, one of the first things you should do is call the company where the fraud occurred. Ask to speak to someone in the fraud department. Tell them your identity was stolen and ask that they either close or freeze the vulnerable accounts. That way, no one can add new charges without your consent. You’ll also want to change all of your logins and passwords as an added precaution.
Then, place a fraud alert with one of the three credit bureaus listed below and that company will inform the other two:
You should also consider filing a report with the FTC (via IdentityTheft.gov or by calling 1-877-438-4338) and informing EBRSO or the Baton Rouge Police Department.
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