Security

 How Fraudsters Operate

Learn about the various methods used to attempt fraud.

• Identity Theft Prevention
• ID Theft for Business 
• Phone and Email Scams
• Tips for Seniors from the North Carolina Department of Justice

 How to Protect Yourself

You can help protect your personal financial information and personal identity. 

• General Security Tips

 Report Fraud, Identity Theft, and Suspicious Activity

Take action if you think your security has been compromised. If you believe you may have been a victim of identity theft:

• File a police report in your local jurisdiction and retain the report number and the name of the officer who took the report.
• Contact your local branch to place holds on your accounts.
• Contact the Social Security Administration's Fraud Hotline at 1-800-269-0271 to report fraudulent use of your identification number.
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by contacting the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).
• Report the incident as quickly as possible to any one of the credit reporting agencies:

Experian  1-888-397-3742 or www.experian.com

Equifax 1-800-766-0008 or www.equifax.com

Trans Union  1-800-680-7289 or www.transunion.com

• You should review a current credit bureau report to identify any unauthorized accounts or inquiries and ask the credit reporting agency about placing a Victim Alert Flag on your files.

Additional Information on Identity Theft and Fraud

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/guard/index.html
• Federal Trade Commission: www.consumer.gov/idtheft
• FakeChecks.org : http://fakechecks.org/
• Federal Bureau of Investingation: http://www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud/fraudschemes.htm
• Social Security Administration: www.ssa.gov/pubs/idtheft.htm
• U.S. Department of Justice: www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html
• U.S. Postal Inspection Service: www.usps.com/postalinspectors/id_intro.htm
• North Carolina Department of Justice: http://www.ncdoj.com/DocumentStreamerClient?directory=Publications&file=securityfreeze.pdf
• North Carolina Department of Justice: http://noscamnc.gov/