Be assertive, take control, and keep your personal information private:

• Protect your Social Security number (SSN). Don't print it on your checks. Don't give it out unless it is required (tax forms or employment records, for example.) Be sure your driver's license uses an "assigned" number and not your SSN. SSNs are the key piece of information con-artists most often use to commit "identity theft" - using your information to open accounts in your name and run up expenses.
• "OPT OUT" of sharing your financial or personal information. Federal law now requires banks, credit card companies, brokerage firms and insurance companies to send you a "privacy notice" each year - including a toll-free number or form to prohibit them from selling your data to unaffiliated "third-party" companies. (You can ask to "opt out" at any time.) You also may ask your financial institution not to disclose information to their own affiliated companies. And you can tell other businesses you want to opt out of them sharing your information - from your telephone or cable company to charities, stores, catalog companies, and web sites.
• Ask the credit reporting agencies not to give your name to solicitors. Credit reporting agencies sell lists to credit card marketers and others. To remove your name, call 1-888-567-8688 (1-888-5-OPT-OUT.) An oral request removes your name for two years, or follow prompts for a form to request permanent removal.
• Tell phone solicitors, "Please do not call me again." When you make this request, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act requires the caller to enter your name on a "do-not-call" list and not to call you again.
• Don't give out financial or unnecessary personal information on prize offers, sweepstakes entries, warranty cards, or other information cards. This information may be sold many times over, driving up your mail and telephone solicitations.

For more tips on protecting your privacy:
www.PrivacyRights.org,
www.FTC.gov, or
www.IowaAttorneyGeneral.org (click on "Protecting Consumers.") Contact the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, Des Moines, Iowa 50319 (515-281-5926.)