Raising public awareness about fraud, identity theft

"Many people don't realize that bits and pieces of their personal information can be a gold mine to an identity thief. In fact, a person's name, address and phone number may be enough for a thief to commit fraud or damage a person's good name or credit.

'It's a very serious problem in Arizona,' said David Mitchell, AARP Arizona State Director. According to recent figures released by the Federal Trade Commission, Arizona ranks first in the country for identity theft.

'In the most serious cases, people who have had their name stolen are refused loans, have lost their job or have even been arrested for crimes they haven't committed.' Mitchell adds that cleaning up after an identity thief can also take years, hard work and money.
In an effort to raise awareness of the rising problem of identity theft in the state, AARP Arizona has launched a campaign to inform people about this type of fraud and what people can do to protect themselves.

'The first thing to remember is to exercise caution when anything involves the release of your personal information especially your Social Security number,' said Mitchell. 'It's also good practice to ask how your personal information will be used or if it will be shared with others.'
Mitchell suggests that people keep their Social Security card in a secure place and limit the amount of credit cards and other personal information carried in wallets or purses.

Another step to protecting against identity theft is to guard mail and trash. 'It's wise to use official post office collection boxes for outgoing mail instead of unsecured cluster mailboxes. Identity thieves can easily break into them and steal mail that contains personal information."

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