Avoid Identity Fraud While Holiday Shopping

State Farm® reminds customers to secure personal information

Bloomington, Ill., As the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear State Farm reminds consumers that the threat of identity fraud is prevalent.

Identity fraud claims an estimated 10 million victims each year, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It’s one of the fastest-growing crimes in the United States and Canada.

Take precautions to secure your personal information whether you’re shopping in a store or online this holiday season.
Secure your identity:

* Keep your PIN number hidden when you use an ATM or debt card machine;

* Don’t provide personal information via the phone, mail or Internet unless you initiated contact;

* Don’t carry personal information like your Social Security Number or any PIN numbers or passwords in your purse or wallet;

* Only shop with online merchants you know and trust;

* Update your computer virus software, use a secure browser and install a firewall program before shopping online.

* Check account statements for suspicious activity.

The real cost of the crime is the time and stress of regaining control of your identity and restoring your credit history. For $25 a year new and existing State Farm policyholders can save themselves the time and headache of regaining control of their identity with identity restoration coverage. State Farm’s identity restoration coverage provides case management support to help the customer recover control of his or her identity and reimburses up to $25,000 in monetary expenses associated with the restoration of an identity.

As an insurance and financial services company, State Farm is committed to protecting consumers’ personal information.
For more information about identity restoration coverage contact a State Farm agent or visit:

http://www.statefarm.com/insurance/identityFraud.asp

http://www.statefarm.com/sfca/insurance/identityFraud.asp