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Protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft
The U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Secret Service are actively investigating at least 53 cases of identity theft reported to authorities on island. During a press conference this morning, U.S. Attorney Lenny Rapadas and U.S. Secret Service Resident Agent in Charge, William Chan, stressed the importance of protecting yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft.
Rapadas said with the impending military buildup, Guam residents will likely be targeted as criminals attempt to obtain an individual's personal information from getting into dumpsters looking for mail or bank statements or medical records, looking over your shoulder at an automated teller machine, getting information off the Internet just to name a few.
U.S. Secret Service Special Agent, Virgil Reichle said one way to beat identity theft is to conduct a self audit of information you keep lying around at work or home. "By the time I'm done doing this personal audit on myself and also going through my personal vehicle, I find half a dozen things with my name, my date of birth and or my social security number on it."
Other ways to protect yourself from identity theft are to:
-shred all your important papers and credit card receipts
-get all of your checks delivered to your bank, not to your home address
-do not put checks in the mail from your home mailbox, drop them off at a U.S. Mailbox or the U.S. Post Office
-cancel all credit cards that you do not use or have not used in 6 months as thieves use these very easily
-be sure to memorize your social security number and all passwords.
If you think you are a victim of identity theft, you can call the U.S. Secret Service Guam Resident Office at 472-7395
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