WAYS TO KEEP YOUR IDENTITY AND ACCOUNTS SAFE:

Helpful Articles:

• Identity Theft Protection Tips: from Consumer Credit Counseling Service of MD & DE (CCCS)
• Money Management: It's a Family Affair: tips for money management courtesy of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of MD & DE Inc. (CCCS)
• Couples & Money: How to Stop Fighting and Start Talking courtesy of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of MD & DE Inc. (CCCS)
• How To Use Your Tax Refund: Financial experts share ideas on how to use your tax refund (CCCS)
• Pre-purchase Housing Counseling and Education: Helping Consumers Prepare for Homeownership (CCCS)
• Financial Empowerment Helps Domestic Abuse Victims Gain a Fresh Start: Deprived of income and financial resources, victims of domestic violence often find it hard to leave their aggressors. The bulletin also provides advice on how victims and their families can take critical steps to become financially independent and aware. (CCCS)
• Getting Help is the First Step to Regaining Financial Control: Check out these tips on how to avoid credit card debt and regain financial control. (CCCS)
• Strategies for a Debt-free Holiday Season: Strategies for staying debt-free through the holidays.
  (CCCS)
• Advice to Parents Dealing WIth Student Loan Debt: CCCS of MD & DE has posted this financial literacy press release that offers parents strategies for dealing with student loan debt.

The Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft Site: a one-stop national resource to learn about the crime of identity theft. It provides detailed information to help you deter, detect, and defend against identity theft.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), funded in part by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).

NEW! Fraud Alerts: updated December 6, 2011 View our new collection of Fraud Alerts to help protect yourself from identity theft. This fraud alerts document will be updated bi-weekly, so be sure to keep checking back!

Here at LM Federal, one of our highest priorities is to keep information about your accounts private and secure. We're proud to have earned your trust by offering the highest level of security, using the latest encryption technology for online transactions, plus virus protection and firewalls. We access your personal information only when necessary to service or maintain your accounts. In addition, you have the opportunity to select your own passwords to enter your accounts and have personal identification numbers (PINs) for your ATM and debit cards. We issue you a personal Access Number for your accounts-totally unrelated to your account numbers. We do not share any of your information with third parties except as allowed or required by law and as necessary to provide you with services, nor do we ever email you asking for personal or sensitive information (to read our complete privacy statement, click here).

If Identity Theft Strikes
When your wallet is lost or stolen, you're protected from unauthorized use of your credit and debit cards and subsequent financial liability if you promptly notify your card issuers. But it's not so easy to guard against identity theft. Each year a growing number of people are victimized by a criminal element interested in stealing their identities.

Armed with personal data, such as your Social Security number, date of birth, and mother's maiden name, these thieves can, within a matter of hours, take over your existing accounts, open new ones, and obtain credit cards, a passport, a drivers license, Social Security benefits and loans. And they can even change your mailing address!

Limit your chances of becoming a victim!

Here are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself:

• Protect your Social Security number and credit card account numbers. Don't give them to anyone over the telephone if they've called you. Hang up and call the company back using a telephone number you find (NOT ONE THEY GIVE YOU) to check that it was a legitimate inquiry.
• Cancel unused credit cards.
• Limit the amount of identification and the number of credit cards you carry.
• When making transactions over the Internet, use only a secure site. Look for the "lock" icon on the Web page.
• Don't leave envelopes with checks inside in an unsecured mailbox. Try to use a sealed U.S. Post Office mailbox for your correspondence. If you have an "open" mailbox, make an effort to pick up your mail promptly. Don't leave mail in your mailbox overnight or on weekends.
• Completely destroy or shred copies of credit card receipts, statements from financial institutions, tax returns and loan applications before discarding them. Keep the ones you need in a SECURE place.
• Look for statements from financial institutions and verify that the account information is correct. By signing up for LM Federal's secure Internet Branch access, you'll be provided with an excellent means of reviewing your accounts at your convenience. Read more about Internet Branch. 
• Never give your Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) to anyone, for any reason. Watch out for a scam that is known as "phishing," where someone calls or emails you and claims to be from one of your accounts (Internet provider, credit card, etc.) and wants to "verify" your information by requesting that you give them your account number, social security number, etc.-DON'T GIVE OUT THIS INFORMATION. Immediately call those companies and notify them about these abuses.
• Watch for unexplained interruptions in your mail service. If there is one, contact your local post office and verify that your address has not been changed without your knowledge.
• Review a copy of your credit report at least once a year.

Notify the correct authorities If you feel you have been a victim of identity theft: Contact the three Credit bureaus and report the incident. Then follow up the phone contact with a written notification to police.

• Contact LM Federal or other financial institutions where you have accounts. Obtain new account numbers and have a code word placed on your accounts.
• File a report with your local law enforcement agency and obtain a report number for future reference.
• If your credit cards or ATM cards have been compromised, request new accounts and PINs.
• If your checks have been stolen or misused, close the account and ask your financial institution to notify the appropriate check verification service. You should also contact the major check verification companies yourselves:

TeleCheck - 1-800-710-9898
Certegy, Inc. - 1-800-437-5120
Call SCAN (1-800-262-7771) to find out if anyone has been
passing bad checks in your name.

• Report the fraudulent use of your Social Security Number to the Social Security Administration:

Report Fraud - 1-800-269-0271.

• Visit your states' motor vehicles office and advise them of the incident.
• Obtain a new operator's license and number.

NOTE: You do not have to use your SSN for your driver's license.
YOU MAY request another number for your driver's license.

For more information on Identity Theft and to download forms for reporting identity fraud, go to consumer.gov/idtheft, call their hotline toll-free 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338), or write Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.