ID Theft Tool Kit

Identity (ID) theft in the U.S. last year affected nearly 10 million people and resulted in losses of nearly $48 billion. Credit unions tend to see those losses reflected in plastic card and fraudulent deposit categories.

"People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years--and their hard-earned money--trying to restore their good name and credit, which thieves took away," says Credit Union National Association President/CEO Dan Mica.

Education is one way to combat the problem. Credit unions now can turn to an online tool kit of resources to understand ID theft, their responsibilities, and how to help members who fall victim.

CUNA's centers for personal finance and professional development and CUNA Mutual Group's credit union protection division collaborated to develop the resource kit, which includes:

* An ID theft checklist of your credit union's responsibilities;

* Links to member education brochures with best practices to avoid becoming ID theft victims;

* The industry standard for ID theft victims to send to credit bureaus and financial institutions where accounts were opened or used in their names;

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) brochure, "When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name, the primary resource for ID theft victims;

* A white paper from the BITS Financial Services Roundtable on financial institution responsibilities pertaining to ID theft;

* Links to ID theft videos from the U.S. Postal Service, FTC, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; and

* Seminars, Webinars, and training opportunities to prevent ID theft.

Look for more information about ID theft during CUNA's Future Forum Oct. 23-27 in Honolulu. Access the tool kit at cuna.org/initiatives/idtheft.html or at cunamutual.com/idtheft.