Learn How to Protect Your Identity During Identity Theft Awareness Week
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: January 23, 2025
Has someone misused your Social Security number or other personal information to open new credit cards or utility accounts? Steal your tax refund? File fake health insurance claims? Pretend to be you when stopped by law enforcement?
These are all examples of identity theft.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received more than 1 million reports of identity theft in 2023, and 2024 total numbers will likely be even higher.
ID theft can happen to anyone, but you can take simple steps to lessen the chance it will happen to you.
During Identity Theft Awareness Week (Jan. 27-31), you can learn how you can protect yourself from becoming a victim. We are partnering with the FTC for 2 webinars on Thursday, Jan. 30, to help you better understand ID theft, avoid it, and, if necessary, recover from it.
The hour-long webinars are free. Click here to join the noon session or the 2 p.m. session in Spanish. Registration is not required.
We will join representatives from the FTC to discuss the following:
- What is identity theft?
- How does it happen?
- How can you spot it?
- What should you do if your identity is stolen?
You’ll also hear about free tools and resources to help you recover from identity theft. Visit IdentityTheft.gov to be guided through recovery steps for more than 30 types of ID theft.
You may also want to read our publication, Identity Theft and Your Social Security Number.
The FTC and its partners are hosting other events throughout the week with targeted information for service members, older adults, young adults, and business owners. Check out the schedule at Identity Theft Awareness Week.
Please share this webinar invitation with friends, family members, and others so they can learn about preventing and recovering from identity theft – and post it on social media.
We also encourage you to join us for our national “Slam the Scam” Day on Thursday, March 6. The annual event is put on by our Office of the Inspector General to raise awareness about scams. It’s part of National Consumer Protection Week, March 2-8. Visit our website in the coming weeks for a schedule of activities.
Did you find this Information helpful?
See Comments
About the Author
Comments
Leave a Comment
Please review our Comment Policy before leaving a comment. For your safety, please do not post Personally Identifiable Information (such as your Social Security Number, address, phone number, email address, bank account number, or birthdate) on our blog.
N. G.
I’m curious why the SSA isn’t offering any id theft monitoring service similar to other companies that have had customer data hacked and stolen. Also, the breach as I understand happened in April 2024 or possibly earlier, and I’m really curious why this wasn’t made known to the people whose 2.9 billion pieces of data were hacked and stolen until August or later of 2024. I’m aware congress is willfully not funding the SSA so that it can do the integral tasks it’s charged with doing, and I don’t think lying by omitting the hack happened, or offering a couple webinars( which I’m still grateful for) to teach people how to protect their identities with no accountability takes the moral sting for yet another government agency supposed to work for the citizens away. I appreciate whomever is reading this and am hopeful for more transparency in the future.
Warm regards.
JT H.
In what time zone are the times shown for this webinar?
eServMD L.
Identity theft is one of the most concerning topics around the world nowadays in the current digital era. To secure your identity, when you are more vulnerable is when you enroll for a treatment at some medical facility or you hire a firm to scrutinize and streamline your revenue cycle. It is very crucial to choose a billing, coding, and audit company that may ensure your privacy and data security and keep you ahead on the curve. eServMD LLC is one of the most prestigious billing, coding, and revenue cycle management companies, working in the industry since 2010. Learn more about us by logging on to our website and start learning if you face any identity or data theft issues while exposed to medical facilities, or if you want yourself or your patients safe from these concerns.
Visit us on our website: https://www.eservmd.com/
SSA C.
Being super careful with giving out or sharing SSN’s is not effective when the SSA themselves POTENTIALLY EXPOSE SSA numbers with names and address when they mail out 1099-SSA forms that contain the FULL NUMBER!! This past year 2024 was my first year in receiving benefits. To say I was SHOCKED that my number was exposed in the “easy to steal/intercept” mailing that identified the sender as SSA on the mailing envelope is an understatement. Do better SSA. At least only include the last 4. Good grief.
Jack P.
How can I find something? That’s not gonna cost me an arm. And a leg.