Posing as someone else for Halloween can be a lot of fun, but, it is no fun at all when Halloween is over and someone steals your identity by posing as you.

To avoid becoming a victim of identity theft:

• Make sure to safeguard all of your personal information by being cautious about who you share it with. Do not release information just because someone asks for it. Make sure that you know who they are and why they are asking.

• Avoid carrying too much information about you or family members in your wallet or purse. Leave social security cards, banking information, and other documents in a secured location, and only take them with you on days when you know for sure that this information will be needed.

• If you use personal information online, make sure to use secured websites, change your passwords frequently, and think twice before responding to strange e-mails that ask you to release personal information.

If you suspect that your identity has been stolen, file a police report,

Contact credit reporting bureaus, Social Security, or any other business or agency that needs to know that someone may be posing as you.

For more information about how to deal with identity theft, contact our Call 4 Action office and ask for a free copy of our identity theft brochure.