This agency has had a dramatic increase in reports of identity theft over the past few months. With the advent of online banking and purchasing of products over the internet, caution must be used when paying with a credit card or online check. Most legitimate companies will have a secure sever and will inform of that fact before you enter any personal information. Legitimate companies WILL NOT send you a link to their site and then ask you for your password or personal information( ie SSN# Drvers Lic # ect.) This is called phishing its an attempt to gain access to your confidential information, with this information a 3rd party can take out a loan in your name, buy a car, open credit card accounts ect. If you feel you may have been a vicitm of phishing you should contact one of the major credit report companies such as Transunion or Equifax and have them run a credit history. Here is a link to the United States Dept. of Justice on Identity theft.
http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html
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