Military identity theft: Protect yourself while you serve

Learn how to protect yourself from identity theft and fraud

Military life is full of risk, from training with live weapons to the dangers of combat. But there’s one threat that military members might not have considered: identify theft.

According to a study by the Federal Trade Commission, active-duty service members face higher identity theft risks. They’re 22% more likely to report that their stolen information was misused to open a new account, especially a new credit card account. They’re 76% more likely to report that an identity thief misused an existing account such as a bank account or credit card and nearly three times more likely to report that someone used a debit card or other electronic means to take money directly from their bank account.

Let’s review some identity theft risks and steps military members can take to reduce that risk.

Why are military members more likely to be a target of identity theft?

Many military members join when they’re young, and they don’t have a ton of experience with financial products and how to protect themselves. They might not understand the benefit of multifactor authentication and may not have the life experience to recognize if something is a scam.

Military members also travel frequently, creating an opportunity for identify thieves. When you’re travelling, you’re less likely to check your accounts or notice fraudulent activity. But keep in mind that you can still be exposed to risk at home.

Deployment poses another risk, as service members often must rely on others to help them manage their finances while they’re away. It might seem like a no-brainer to turn to family and friends while you’re deployed, but sadly, you can still be taken advantage of by someone you trust.

It’s always sad when I hear that a military member—or anyone, for that matter—has been taken advantage of by someone they thought they could trust. Let’s be clear, I’ve heard more good stories about loved ones who have helped during a deployment or temporary duty than bad ones, but bad stories do exist. So it’s also important to take precautions, even when relying on someone you trust.

How to recognize identity theft

You can’t totally avoid all identity fraud risks. But you can be smart about protecting your information and then act if something doesn’t look correct.

One way to protect yourself is by partnering with a financial institution that has a great cybersecurity team and cybersecurity protocols. Protecting your accounts and your personal information is one of our top priorities.

It’s also important to monitor your account yourself for unusual activity and to be aware of what identity theft can look like.

Maybe you get an approval for a credit card you didn’t apply for. Or you receive a tax bill for a property in a state that you don’t live in. That can be your only clue that you’ve been the victim of identity theft.

Smart identity theft protection actions

There are some practical steps you can take to protect yourself and your family. Remember that the bad people are working hard to take your information, so you need to work just as hard to protect it.

Cybersecurity practices

We suggest using smart cybersecurity protection practices like two-factor authentication and strong password management. The extra step might feel like a hassle, but it can help you catch fraudulent transactions or attempts to log into your account before any damage is done.

Another safety tool is smart password management. Don’t use one password for all your accounts. If hackers crack one, they have them all. This also means that easy-to-guess passwords are not good ideas. PaSSword1234 or 1234512345 are not good passwords. And change your passwords periodically.

It’s also important to practice smart digital citizenship. Don’t click on links in emails you don’t recognize, it could be phishing. Some of these scam emails look authentic but check the sender as the email address can be a key indicator if it’s legit. Plus, if it’s a link to a document or notification from an institution you work with, you can just log into your account and find the document or notification there. If in doubt, just call and ask if they sent it.

Active-duty alerts

You can place an active-duty alert on your credit report at no cost and it lasts for one year and is helpful while you’re deployed. You can renew the alert every year at no cost as well. The goal of the alert is to make it harder for someone to open an account steps to verify your identity. You only need to request this alert from one credit bureau and the other two will be notified.

Credit freeze

You can also place a freeze on your credit, which means no new credit can be opened in your name. If you need to open an account, you’ll need to unfreeze your credit to allow lenders access.

Unlike fraud alerts, you must request a freeze separately at each of the three credit bureaus and go to each separately to lift the freeze.

Keep in mind that there are exceptions to a credit freeze. These include requests for your credit report from employers, landlords or businesses that you have a relationship with.

It’s also important to know that freezing your credit won’t prevent someone from stealing your identity. They could still hack into a computer system, go through your trash or get your information in other ways. Identity thieves don’t only use your stolen information to apply for credit, so it’s important to stay alert and diligent for other signs that your identity is being misused.

Security at home

Buy a shredder so you can destroy any personal documents, statements or credit card offers you receive in the mail. These can be a treasure trove of information for identity thieves. While one document might not give them everything they need, they can piece enough information from several documents to do some damage.

Monitor your credit

Finally, review your credit report annually from all three major bureaus, Experian®, Equifax® and TransUnion. You might see something on there that doesn’t look right so you can address it. In fact, law provides free credit monitoring for military members. You can sign up for credit monitoring at the different bureaus at the links below:

• Equifax active-duty credit monitoringOpens in a New Window‍ ‍ ^{See note 1}
• Experian IDnotify's Active Military AccountOpens in a New Window‍ ‍ ^{See note 1}
• TransUnion active-duty credit monitoringOpens in a New Window‍ ‍ ^{See note 1}

Sometimes there’s nothing you can do to protect yourself, like in the case of data breaches. But there are still things you can do to limit the damage.

How to limit the impact of or recover from identity theft

If you experience identity theft, it’s important to act quickly to limit the damage. Here are a few things to do:

Call your financial institutions.

This should be your first step after you’ve identified suspected identity theft. After you notify your financial institutions, they could freeze your accounts to prevent money from being taken out. They’ll probably issue you new account information, set up extra layers of security verification and launching an investigation to help recover your money.

If you add an initial security alert with one of the credit bureaus, they’ll notify the others. You can also add a seven-year fraud victim alert, which helps protect you for years to come.

Call the police.

If you know that you’ve been a victim, you should file a police report. You’ll need the report to have a fraud victim statement added to your credit report. Lenders may also request the police report as part of their process to remove fraudulent accounts.

Freeze your credit.

Before adding a credit freeze, be sure you understand the benefits and limitations of doing so. A credit freeze will prevent someone using your identity to apply for new credit, but it’s important to note that not all identity crimes involve pulling your credit report. That means a freeze won’t protect you in those scenarios.

If you’re actively seeking credit, a freeze might prove to be more of a nuisance than a help. But if you have ongoing fraud issues, a freeze could be a very helpful tool. It just depends on your personal situation.

Change your passwords.

If you experience identity theft, it’s a great time to change your passwords. This is especially important if your passwords were hacked or leaked in a data breach. And don’t just change the password for the hacked account. Consider other accounts that might have the same or similar passwords, too. This goes back to good password security practices of not using the same or similar password everywhere.

If you’ve been the victim of identity theft, reporting it can help you begin the recovery process and, hopefully, get some of your money back. The FTC can also help you create a personal recovery plan.‍ ‍ ^{See note 1}