FTC shares tips to prevent identity theft
CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – It's Identity Theft Awareness Week and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says identity theft can happen to anyone and can take many forms.
The agency and its partners are hosting free webinars and other events to talk about how to spot, avoid, report, and recover from identity theft.
The FTC says you can protect your identity by keeping all of your personal information in a safe place, and then shredding documents before disposing of them. They also say never give out that personal information over the phone or online. Also, have a strong password for all of your online accounts and be wary of links sent to your email.
Terri Miller with the Federal Trade Commission told 22News, 'You click the link, you go to the website, thinking it's a real business website, but it's a scam site. The information that you input to purchase an item might just be handing over that financial and personal information to a scammer.'
On Thursday, January 30th at noon, the FTC and Social Security Administration will hold a webinar to discuss understanding and avoiding identity theft.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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