Tough times are ripe for ID theft

That's actually good news, since there's a lot more you can do to protect the information that's under your control than the stuff that's out there in somebody else's database.

Such as:

• Program the following numbers into your cell phone so you can quickly report lost or stolen cards: American Express, 1-800-268-9824; Discover, 1-800-DISCOVER or 1-800-347-2683; MasterCard, 1-800-MASTERCARD or 800-627-8372; Visa, 1-800-VISA-911 or 1-800-847-2911.

• Shield the keypad with your hand anytime you type in a PIN, and palm a credit card so the numbers don't show while you're waiting in line or finishing a transaction.

• Keep your checks, account statements and other sensitive financial information in a locked filing cabinet. This is especially important whenever people you don't absolutely trust will be in your home, such as during parties, when you're having work done on your house or during any family gatherings that include sketchy relatives.

• Set up e-mail alerts in your bank and credit card accounts to inform you when large transactions have been made or when your balance reaches certain limits.

• Monitor your credit reports. You can access reports from each of the three major bureaus once a year at the government's free site. If you're at high risk for identity theft or will be in the market for a loan in the next few months, consider getting a credit-monitoring subscription. (Read "Should you hire a credit watchdog?" for details.)

• Never click on a link embedded in an e-mail, even if the message looks like it legitimately came from one of your financial institutions. Open a new browser window and type in the institution's URL yourself.

• Consider blocking access to your credit reports if you've already been a victim of identity theft or are at high risk. (Read "Should you freeze your credit report?")

• Cancel paper bills and statements. Monitor your accounts and pay your bills online. People who monitor their accounts online tend to catch fraud much faster. (Read "Go paperless for safer banking.")

Is that ATM safe?

Monitoring all your accounts is important, but these days you want to pay particular attention to what's going on in your checking and savings accounts, because thieves increasingly target bank accounts.

The bad guys have found plenty of ways to steal all-important PINs. Some set up bogus ATMs or install skimming devices or cameras on legitimate machines to record account numbers and PINs.

A few may even have cracked what MSNBC technology columnist Bob Sullivan calls the "holy grail" of bank-account hacking, by stealing and decoding encrypted PINs from a retailer's database.

So the answer to question No. 2 is also "false." You don't want to write down your PIN, of course, but keeping it a secret won't necessarily protect your account.

What you need to do:

• Avoid unfamiliar ATMs.

• Consider using your credit card instead of your debit card for transactions.

• Monitor your bank transactions at least once a week and question any unfamiliar charges.

• If your accounts have been compromised, shut them down and open new ones. The bank may resist, but once the bad guys have access to your account, there's really no foolproof way to keep them out, except by shutting it down and starting with a new account number.

'Helping' you as they help themselves

Finally, you need to know about a twist on "phishing" scams called "vishing."

In a phishing scam, you get an e-mail purportedly from your bank or another financial institution, or a site where you have an account, such as eBay or PayPal. The e-mail typically warns of some security problem and tries to get you to provide personal information, such as your login ID and password.

Vishing is like phishing, except a phone is involved. You may get an e-mail directing you to call a phony customer-service line, which prompts you to input account numbers, passwords and other identifying information.

Or you may get a phone call purporting to be from your bank or credit card issuer and be asked to provide critical information, such as the security code on your credit card. The criminal may already have some of your account information, to create a false sense of security.

By the way, you can't trust caller ID to separate legitimate calls from vishing calls. The criminals often use Internet calling services with software programs that create bogus customer-service numbers, or they hack into legitimate companies' phone lines.

To fight back: If you get an e-mail or phone call purporting to be from your financial institution, don't provide any information. Dial your institution's main number yourself and let it know what's happened. If it's a fraud call, you'll be connected to the right people for further action.

In other words, be vigilant. Always assume the sender of the e-mail, the caller on the phone and the person standing behind you in line are out to wreak havoc on your financial life. A little suspicion can go a long way toward protecting your wallet and your identity.

Liz Pulliam Weston's latest book, "Easy Money: How to Simplify Your Finances and Get What You Want Out of Life," is now available. Columns by Weston, the Web's most-read personal-finance writer and winner of the 2007 Clarion Award for online journalism, appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions on the Your Money message board.

Published Oct. 20, 2008

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