Every two seconds someone in America has their identity stolen. The U.S Department of Justice reports that identity thieves stole more than $18 billion from 17.6 million U.S. victims last year.

To combat this growing criminal industry that destroys the good names and credit ratings of innocent people, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller launched the “Freeze Identity Thieves”statewide public awareness effort today aimed at arming Hoosiers with a simple, effective ID theft prevention tool:  the credit freeze.

Zoeller is urging Hoosiers to sign up for a credit freeze to guard against fraud this holiday shopping season, when cybercrime is common.

The free credit freeze prevents any new lines of credit from being opened in someone’s name unless that person lifts the freeze himself or herself. This effectively stops identity thieves from using any stolen information, for example a Social Security Number, to access and rack up peoples’ credit.

The credit freeze can be initiated within minutes online with each of the three credit reporting agencies – TransUnion, Experian and Equifax – at the Attorney General’s website www.IndianaConsumer.com/idtheft. Once a freeze is initiated, the consumer can temporarily lift it at any time if they would like to apply for new credit or a loan.

“The way we secure our finances must change in the digital age to respond to growing threats of identity theft and cyber hacks that jeopardize our credit and financial stability,” Zoeller said. “We are naïve if we think our information is not already exposed, ripe for theft. Thankfully there is a free tool to protect credit and stop identity thieves in their tracks: the credit freeze.”

The AG’s new “Freeze Identity Thieves” public awareness ads feature identity thieves getting “frozen” before they can commit identity theft against someone who has a credit freeze in place. The statewide initiative consists of television, radio, print and digital spots. The television ads began Monday and will run through December.

More than 400 data breaches exposing the personal and financial information of Indiana residents were reported to the Indiana Attorney General’s Office this year, and more than 1,000 identity theft complaints were filed.

Identity theft victims experience an average $1,343 loss according to a U.S. Department of Justice report, but that amount can be much higher and it can take years to clear up.

Zoeller said the credit freeze is the best protection against fraud and identity theft, and is superior to credit monitoring services that detect rather than prevent fraud.

Zoeller urged consumers to be vigilant by following these additional fraud prevention tips, especially during the holiday shopping season:

• Closely monitor financial statements for any unusual activity.
• Review and monitor credit reports to check for inaccuracies. A free credit report can be requested from each of the credit bureaus once a year through www.AnnualCreditReport.com.
• Opt out of pre-screened credit offers at OptOutPrescreen.com.
• Shred credit card applications or offers received in the mail.
• Use strong passwords on all online accounts, particularly bank or credit card accounts, and change passwords frequently.
• Never do business online unless the website is secure.  A secure connection will have an “s” after the “http” web address and an icon of a “closed lock.”
• Never give out financial or personal information over the phone unless you initiated the contact.

If unusual activity is detected and someone believes they are a victim of identity theft, they should follow the below steps:

• Report fraud to the police and file a complaint with the AG’s Office at www.IndianaConsumer.com or by calling 800-382-5516.
• Place fraud alerts on credits reports by contacting one of the three credit agencies: TransUnion, Experian or Equifax.
• File a petition in court asking the judge to issue a court order declaring the person a victim of identity theft. That order can be used as legal grounds to clear up fraudulent activity.

Under Indiana’s Disclosure of Security Breach law, businesses with Indiana customers are required to inform customers and the AG’s Office about security breaches that have placed personal information in jeopardy. The AG’s Office investigates data breaches to determine if customers were properly notified of the breach and if the entity had appropriate safeguards in place to protect customers’ data.

The AG’s Office reached court settlements with eight companies this year regarding data breaches, resulting in $56,000 in payments to the Consumer Protection Fund and commitments that the companies will implement tighter security policies.

More information on preventing identity theft or restoring credit once theft has occurred can be found at www.IndianaConsumer.com/idtheft.

The $1.6 million “Freeze Identity Thieves” campaign is being paid for exclusively with settlement funds received by the Attorney General’s Office for violations of Indiana’s consumer protection laws and required by the court to be used in consumer education, including a recent multi-state settlement reached with the three national credit reporting agencies that will strengthen consumer protections in the credit reporting process.