Tips To Help Safeguard Sen lors Against Financial Crimes (NAPSA)—The holidays are garbage pickup, meaning your trash could be sitting outside, often synonymous with shop- ping—on Main Street, in malls unprotected, for an even longer period of time. Make sure you and online. Unfortunately, not everyone is looking for the best deal, but instead, the easiest opportunity to steal from unsuspecting Americans. Identity theft, robbery and check fraud are shred every document headed for the trash that may have personal information, including check stubs, credit card applications, monthly bank statements, receipts and increasingly prevalent during the holidays—and seniors are often the targets of such crimes. other documents that thieves can use to commit fraud. Pay careful attention to your holiday credit card bills To safeguard against financial crimes this holiday season, the National Sheriffs’ Association offers these timely tips for seniors and those whocare for them: Don’t carry important personal information in your purse or wallet. With the holiday shopping season under way, purse snatchers and pickpockets are on the prowl, looking for dis- tracted shoppers from whom they can steal cash and personal information. Be sure your purse or wallet does not include sensitive information such as your Social Security number, personal identi- fication numbers (PINs) and pass- words. A thief can use these details to order checks or credit cards, apply for loans or otherwise commit fraud using your name. Use direct deposit. Your mail—both incoming and outgoing—can be vulnerable, especially during the holidays when criminal activity is heightened. If your Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) check or other payments are delivered by mail to an unlocked box, you may be at risk for theft. Direct deposit eliminates therisk of lost or stolen and bank statements. Whether pickpockets and identity thieves. or not you are a person whorelies heavily on your credit card during the holiday season, make sure you are the only one who gets to make checks, reduces fraud and gives people faster access to their money to ensure no oneelseis using your During the holiday season, seniors are prime targets for on payment day. Direct deposit also protects against identity theft. To sign up for direct deposit of your Social Security or SSI pay- ment, call the Go Direct helpline at (800) 333-1795 or sign up online at www.GoDirect.org. It’s free and takes less than five minutes. Know who yow’re dealing with when you shop online.If you shop online, be certain the business is legitimate. If you have not heard of the company before, it is always a good idea to check this decision. Carefully check your credit card and bank statements card and illegally making purchases in your name. If you notice anything suspicious, or if you sud- denly stop receiving credit card or bank statements, contact your financial institution immediately. For more information from the National Sheriffs’ Association, visit www.sheriffs.org. with your local Better Business Bureau before making any pur- chase or providing personal finan- cial information. Don’t let your holiday trash becomea thief’s treasure. Identity thieves have become experts at picking through your trash. What’s worse, during the holidays, there may be a delay in The National Sheriffs’ Association ts a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising the level of professionalism among those in the criminal justice field. Now in its 67th year, NSA has provided programs for Sheriffs, their deputies, chiefs of police, and others in the field of criminal justice to perform their jobs in the best possible manner andto better serve the people of their cities, counties or jurisdictions.
