While you can't completely lock down your personal information, there are many steps you can take to protect your identity. This practice is becoming increasingly common, but there are steps you can take to protect yourself.

Identity theft criminals are always looking for new ways to get your personal information. The latest is called "phishing." Phishing is a scam that uses email messages, spam or pop-up messages to deceive you into disclosing your credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security Number, passwords, or other sensitive information. 

Some recommendations from the FTC to help not be caught by the phishers are:

• If you get an e-mail or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply or click on the link in the message. Legitimate companies don't ask for this information via e-mail. If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization in the e-mail using a telephone number you know to be genuine, or open a new Internet browser session and type in the company's correct Web address. In any case, don't cut and paste the link in the message.
   
• Don't e-mail personal or financial information. E-mail is not a secure method of transmitting personal information. If you initiate a transaction and want to provide your personal or financial information through an organization's Web site, look for indicators that the site is secure, like a lock icon on the browser's status bar or a URL for a web site that begins "https:" (the "s" stands for "secure"). Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof; some phishers have forged security icons.
   
• Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to determine whether there are any unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.
   
• Use antivirus software and keep it up-to-date. Some phishing e-mails contain malicious software that can harm your computer or track your activities on the Internet without your knowledge. CU-Boulder has anti-virus software available for current faculty, staff, and students.
   
• Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from e-mails you receive, regardless of who sent them.
   
• Report suspicious activity to the FTC. If you get spam that is phishing for information, forward it to helpline@fortlewis.edu.
  
  Check out these other web sites to learn more about protecting your privacy (these links will take you outside of the Fort Lewis domain):
  

  	Department of Education
  	Identity Theft Resource Center
  	Colorado Attorney General
  	Social Security Administration
  	Department of Justice
  	ID Theft Information