HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Fresh from hosting an identity theft prevention workshop, Michigan District 80 Rep. Mary Whiteford is sharing tips she learned.
One way to avoid stolen credit card numbers., she said, is making sure card numbers are shielded when used in public, so it can’t be photographed by others.
She said creating safe computer passwords — and changing them periodically — is important. One tip she picked up, she said, is adding a hyphen to a password, which is harder to read for automated hacking systems.
But phone scams remain the biggest threat.
People who get calls asking for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, credit card or bank numbers should take the caller’s number and check if that number matches the agency or office the caller claims to be from — and the person getting the call should place their own call to see what’s going on.
For more tips, visit the FDIC’s web page on avoiding scams and identity theft.
