Identity Theft

Prevention - Awareness

More and more people are victims of Identity Theft. This crime occurs when someone takes your personal information without your knowledge and uses it to commit fraud or other crimes.  Identity Theft can damage your credit and cost you.  Recent statistics from the US Government suggest that you can expect it to cost on average $1,200 and take around 600 hours to repair your credit.  Please notify the bank immediately of anything suspicious. We are here to help!

Steps to help protect your identity:

• Check your credit report at least annually to make sure everything is correct  (  www.annualcreditreport.com is the only government-sanctioned website where you can check your report for free once a year).
• Review your bank statements monthly to insure all activity in your account was initiated by you and is accurate. 
• Shred personal, financial information, pre-approved credit offers, or any documents with sensitive information.
• Report lost or stolen checks to the bank.
• Only give out personal information over the phone when you have initiated the call.
• Don't carry your Social Security Card with you, and don't give it out unless it is absolutely necessary.
• Keep your computer's security (firewalls, anti-spyware, and anti-virus software) up-to-date.
• Choose passwords that are easy for you to remember, but hard for others to figure out.
• Keep any sensitive information in a secure place (vault or safe deposit box at the bank).
• Protect yourself from Internet "Phishing" scams.  Phishing is an online scam that uses a replica of an existing web page or email that you are familiar with to trick you into submitting personal, financial, or password information.  To keep your sensitive personal information protected and avoid online theft, always be suspicious of emails seeking personal information; refuse to give out your SSN, PIN, or account number by email.

Enhanced Login Security

In our quest to protect our customers, Randall-Story State Bank has extra security on Internet Banking at:  www.RandallStory.com.  We have added levels of security above and beyond the firewalls, encryptions, and password protection. With Enhanced Login Security, you can have security questions that only you know the answer to every time you login.  That means that not only is your information protected with a password, your computer is recognized as well.

Identity Theft Reporting:

Unfortunately, Identity Theft can strike any of us.  If you have been a victim of Identity Theft, here are some steps you can take to minimize the impact:

• Call your local Police Department to report and file the incident.

• Call your financial institution(s) about the situation and close any accounts that have been affected or that have been opened fraudulently.  Notify Randall-Story State Bank at 515.733.4396.

• Notify the three major credit bureaus, review reports for any other signs of Identity Theft and place a "Fraud Alert" on your credit reports:  

                Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

                Experian: 1-888-397-3742

                TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289

• Report the theft to the Federal Trade Commission: 

                 www.ftc.gov/idtheft

                1-877-438-4338 or TTY 1-866-653-4261

                 Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 

                Washington, DC  20590                                          

• Document the entire process by maintaining a log of all the contacts you make with authorities including names and phone numbers.

Additional Online Resources are available at www.IdentityTheft.org.

Please stop in and visit with us if you have any questions or concerns.