Flagstaff, AZ – A two hour Identity Theft Awareness and Prevention Presentation that is open to the public, free of charge will be held on Thursday, June 4, 2009 from 6:00 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Cromer Elementary School located at 7150 North Koch Field Road.
Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in the country! People can spend months and thousands of dollars repairing the damage done to their credit history and good name by an identity thief. Many people do not realize how easily criminals can obtain our personal data without having to break into our homes. In public places, for example, criminals may engage in “shoulder surfing” watching you from a nearby location as you punch in your telephone calling card number or credit card number or listen in on your conversation if you give your credit-card number over the telephone to a hotel or rental car company.
Even the area near your home or office may not be secure. Some criminals engage in “dumpster diving” going through your garbage cans or a communal dumpster or trash bin — to obtain copies of your checks, credit card or bank statements, or other records that typically bear your name, address, and even your telephone number. These types of records make it easier for criminals to get control over accounts in your name and assume your identity.
If you receive applications for “preapproved” credit cards in the mail, but discard them without tearing up the enclosed materials, criminals may retrieve them and try to activate the cards for their use without your knowledge. (Some credit card companies, when sending credit cards, have adopted security measures that allow a card recipient to activate the card only from his or her home telephone number but this is not yet a universal practice.) Also, if your mail is delivered to a place where others have ready access to it, criminals may simply intercept and redirect your mail to another location. Please join us to learn more information about how you can harden yourself as target to would-be identity thieves.
Sponsors include: Citizens Against Substance Abuse, Coconino County Alliance Against Drugs, Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Flagstaff Police Department, Coconino County Board of Supervisors, Timberline/Fernwood and Doney Park Neighborhood Watch Programs.
For more information call CASA at (928) 779-5361
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