Better Business Bureau offers tips for avoiding identity theft

2020 was the worst year in history for identity theft reports. The Federal Trade Commission reported cases of identity theft skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The FTC announced it recorded about 1.4 million reports of identity theft incidents in 2020, twice the number of cases reported in 2019.

One easy way for identity thieves to steal your identity is to get personal information from papers we make easy for them to access. For instance, we throw important paperwork out for the trash and dumpster divers get ahold of it.

BBB is offering help through its free shredding event, Secure Your ID Day, which will be held on Saturday, April 17, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Routsong Funeral Home, 81 N. Main St. in Centerville. You are welcome to bring up to five bags or boxes of personal documents to be shredded to this event. BBB will provide tickets to the first 350 cars to arrive, which ensures their materials will be shredded. After those cars, additional patrons may be permitted depending on the shredding truck’s capacity.

Better Business Bureau offers these tips to consider:

■ Store important documents safely. Guard your passport, Social Security card and other important personal documents.

■ Don’t respond to unsolicited requests for your personal information.

■ Keep an eye out for unexplained withdraws and charges on your account statements.

■ Get your mail every day out of the mailbox. Consider putting your mail on hold when you go on vacation.

■ Secure your online accounts. Vary your passwords and make sure they are long and complex. Change passwords often. And, don’t give them out to others.

■ Install and keep updated antivirus software and firewalls on your computer.

■ Wipe the memory from electronics before donating or throwing them away.

■ Enable the security features on mobile devises.

■ Don’t allow others to borrow your credit or debit cards. In addition, don’t share your pin.

■ Be careful with information you share online.

■ Check your credit report at least once a year. You are entitled to one free report a year from each of the three reporting bureaus: TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. You can order them free from annualcreditreport.com. You can also request a freeze of your credit reports.

■ Don’t click on links from unknown senders through text or email.

■ Be careful when shopping online. Check out businesses on BBB.org.