Concerned about identity theft? The best way to know that no one is using your personal information is to monitor your credit. The Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) recommends that Vermonters review their credit reports now, and regularly, to make sure that no unauthorized accounts are being reported.
You can get a free credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies annually, online, at www.annualcreditreport.com. If you find anything that should not be there, be sure to save a copy of the report. Then, contact the credit reporting agency to dispute all inaccurate items and close any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
Remember, identity theft is the unauthorized use of another person’s personal identifying information to obtain credit, goods, services, money, or property, and it’s a crime! If you’ve experienced identity theft, contact law enforcement to file a police report.
Still have questions? Visit ago.vermont.gov/cap/information_for_consumers/ or call CAP at 800-649-2424.
To learn more about how the Vermont Department of Labor is responding to a recent 1099-G improper mailing and data incident, visit labor.vermont.gov/1099-incident-updates.