If you suspect that your personal information has been misused to commit fraud or theft, act immediately, and keep a detailed record of your conversations and correspondence. Your first three steps should be:

FIRST, contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus:

• Equifax: www.equifax.com
  To order your report, call: 1-800-685-1111
  or write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
  To report fraud, call: 1-800-525-6285
  and write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
• Experian: www.experian.com
  To order your report, call: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
  or write: P.O. Box 2104, Allen TX 75013
  To report fraud, call: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
  and write: P.O. Box 9532, Allen TX 75013
• TransUnion: www.transunion.com
  To order your report, call: 800-916-8800
  or write: P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022.
  To report fraud, call: 1-800-680-7289
  and write: Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

SECOND, close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

THIRD, file a police report with your local police or the police in the community where the theft took place.

If you become a victim of identity theft involving federal education funds or suspect that your student information have been stolen, contact:

• U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General Hotline: e-mail oig.hotline@ed.gov, 1-800-MISUSED (1-800-647-8733)

• Federal Trade Commission, 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338)
• Social Security Administration, 1-800-269-0271
• National White Collar Crime Center, http://www.nw3c.org

Our society generates an enormous amount of data. Most users of that information are honest, legitimate businesses. But no one, including students, is immune from being a potential victim of identity theft. The financial and emotional consequences of this crime are long term and long lasting. The information provided in this document gives you a number of steps for safeguarding your personal data, and there are many other resources available on the Internet.

Following are a series of forms that will be useful if, despite your efforts, you become a victim of identity theft.

• Chart your course of action
• ID theft affidavit
• Fraudulent account statement

Whether you realize it or not, there's a quiet little battle raging
on your computer. In one corner you have your faithful PC;
in the other are malicious agents such as spyware, adware, malware,
viruses, worms, and Trojans. Since the victor of this battle will
decide who really controls your computer - use these 5 'Spyware
Fighting' tips to make sure you win the battle!

Spyware and adware are becoming major problems for online
surfers and PC owners. Some highly respected sources such as
AOL, Earthlink and Webroot place the rate of infection at 80-90%
of all computers. Granted, some of this percentage is taken up
by relatively benign tracking cookies, but other types like
keyword logging, system monitors, worms and Trojans present a
major threat to your privacy and may even do serious damage to
your computer.

With the occurrences of Spyware increasing daily, chances are high that
you will be going into battle against Spyware very soon - so if
you need a battle plan - Try these 5 Tips:

1. Go on the offensive. Fight spyware before it even arrives on
your computer. Make sure you have a good 'anti-virus software'
program running on your PC. Many ISPs (Internet Service Providers)
now offer anti-virus programs or even purchasing a commercial product
is to your advantage. Get a program or product that is regularly
updated to fend off the latest viruses, adware, worms, trojans and
spyware.

2. Put up a Firewall. A Firewall should be one of your first lines of
defense against spyware. A Firewall is simply a system or gateway designed
to prevent unauthorized access to your computer or network. Check out
www.zonealarm.com, they provide a free Firewall for individual users.
Download their program and place it on your PC.

3. Don't open Emails and Attachments from people you don't know.
Use common sense, DON'T open any emails from people you don't know.
Especially, do not open any Attachments until they are scanned for spyware and
viruses. Many mail servers will do these scans for free.

4. Keep Your Operating System Up to Date. Be aware of what's on
your system - do regular spyware and adware scans to see exactly what's on
your computer. Know your machine! You may be horrified to learn someone may
be monitoring your every 'keystroke' and every 'image' you've viewed on
your computer. So scan regularly and also make sure you download the newest
updates from your Operating System; these often contain patches or fixes
for serious breaches of security of your PC.

5. Back-up Your System. If all the above steps fail, nothing is foolproof,
any computer that uses the Internet can be hacked, so you need to back-up
your important data. You can use floppy disks, CDs or use a second computer
that's not connected to the net just for storage or back-up of your sensitive
data/programs. An inexpensive notebook computer can be used to make
daily/weekly back-ups of your vital data and programs.

In conclusion, the best defense against any spyware is a strong offense.
Be prepared, be aware, but most of all, be battle-ready: have a system in
place that will nuke these spyware agents before they even reach your computer.
Choose your weapons carefully, be merciless, be thorough and take no prisoners!
This is one battle you can't afford to lose.

Implement and Use these 5 helpful 'Spyware Fighting' tips and the
Victory is yours!

About the Author

To learn more about Spyware and Adware Click Here:
href="http://www.bizwaremagic.com/spyware-removal-guide.htm">Spyware
Remover Guide

Copyright © 2005 Titus Hoskins of www.bizwaremagic.com.

This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays
attached.