Protecting yourself Personally

Protecting yourself Professionally 

 An official website of the United States Government

Consumer reporting companies have a tremendous influence over consumers’ lives and, of course, hold a tremendous amount of data about those consumers. We want to make sure that consumers are treated fairly and receive the protections they deserve.

Below is a list of resources and public releases from the Bureau to help people understand what we currently know, and what steps or actions they can take to protect their personal information.

Top 10 ways to protect your personal information from being misused

1. Review your credit report. You are entitled to a free credit report every 12 months from each of the three major consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). You can request a copy from AnnualCreditReport.com .

2. Consider a security freeze. A security freeze or credit freeze on your credit report restricts access to your credit file. Creditors typically won’t offer you credit if they can’t access your credit reporting file, so a freeze prevents you and others from opening new accounts in your name. In almost all states, a freeze lasts until you remove it. In some states, it expires after seven years.

3. Set up a fraud alert. Fraud alerts require that a financial institution verifies your identity before opening a new account, issuing an additional card, or increasing the credit limit on an existing account. A fraud alert won’t prevent lenders from opening new accounts in your name, but it will require that the lenders take additional identification verification steps to make sure that you’re making the request. An initial fraud alert only lasts for 90 days, so you may want to watch for when to renew it. You can also set up an extended alert for identity theft victims, which is good for seven years.

4. Read your credit card and bank statements carefully. Look closely for charges you did not make. Even a small charge can be a danger sign. Thieves sometimes will take a small amount from your checking account and then return to take much more if the small debit goes unnoticed.

5. Don’t ignore bills from people you don’t know. A bill on an account you don’t recognize may be an indication that someone else has opened an account in your name. Contact the creditor to find out.

6. Shred any documents with personal or sensitive information. Be sure to keep hard copies of financial information in a safe place and be sure to shred them before getting rid of them.

7. Change your passwords for all of your financial accounts and consider changing the passwords for your other accounts as well. Be sure to create strong passwords and do not use the same password for all accounts. Don’t use information such as addresses and birthdays in your passwords. For more tips on how to create strong passwords read more on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) blog .

8. File your taxes as soon as you can. A scammer can use your Social Security number to get a tax refund. You can try to prevent a scammer  from using your tax information to file and steal your tax refund by making sure you file before they do. Be sure not to ignore any official letters from the IRS and reply as soon as possible. The IRS will contact you by mail; don’t provide any information or account numbers in response to calls or emails.

9. Active duty servicemembers are eligible for additional protections, and should also monitor their credit carefully. Learn more about what you can do if you’re currently serving at home or abroad.

10. If you are the parent or guardian of a minor and you think your child’s information has been compromised, here are some steps from the FTC you can take  to protect their information from fraudulent use. If you think you or your child’s identity has already been stolen you can follow checklists and additional steps provided by the FTC to begin recovering  from a case of identity theft.

• Technology has brought convenience to the real estate transaction – and hackers/scammers
• The most recent scam involves stealing client’s earnest money, down payment or sale proceeds by diverting funds to the scammer’s account using a fraudulent wire transfer
• If you or a client have been scammed, immediately contact the bank and escrow holder to stop payment and notify the F.B.I. and/or Secret Service
• If you must use email, avoid becoming a victim by securing your email system and encrypting sensitive documents
• Use C.A.R.’s Wire Fraud Advisory (Form WFA) and other Legal Tools to educate your clients about fraud risk

Additional resources from C.A.R.

• Cyber Crime in the Real Estate Industry
• Cybercrime – CAR Overciew

Tips to Avoid Cyber-Crime in Real Estate

SECURE YOUR DEPOSIT OR PROCEEDS FROM WIRE FRAUD

• Wire fraud is common, especially in high-worth transactions like real estate, so prevention is key
• Always confirm emailed wire instructions by phone using contact information that DID NOT come with the emailed wire instructions
• In general, it is a good idea to obtain the phone number of the escrow/title officer for your transaction at the beginning
• If there are any changes to the contacts provided, always independently confirm them before wiring any money

USE SECURE WIFI

• Use secure, encrypted WiFi connections
• Be skeptical of unsecured, public WiFi. Consider using a secure proxy server

USE EMAIL CAUTIOUSLY

• Enable Two Factor Authentication (most email services providers offer this service, which typically can be found in your Profile Settings)
• Check access details regularly to confirm that no compromise has occurred. With a Gmail account, for example, you can click on the Details link at the bottom of the page in your Inbox. This will show you any recent activity. If the Location information shows a
  foreign country, there may be reason for concern
• Your email services may offer alerts to notify you of any unusual activity and you should activate this service, if it is available
• Think carefully before you click on an embedded link and select only those from a confirmed legitimate source or destination you recognize
• When in doubt, contact the sender to confirm the email is legitimate or delete the email entirely
• Avoid sending personal information in emails or texts
• If you need to send personal information by email, use an encrypted email service
• This is a time to be overly cautious

Additional Resources

• C.A.R. Legal Q & A: Protect Your Brokerage from Cybercrime
• C.A.R. Form WFA, Wire Fraud Advisory (available within zipForm®)
• C.A.R. Brochure: Tips to Avoid Cybercrime in Real Estate (available within zipForm® in the epubs library and on www.car.org in the Legal Tools section)
• C.A.R. Cybercrime Video Short (available on www.car.org in the Legal Tools section)