Identity Theft

Identity theft has become the fastest growing crime in the entire world.  Unfortunately, Wise County isn’t immune to such a crime.  Financial institutions in our county agree that “identity theft” is growing and is seen right here where we live daily.  The Wise County Leadership Advisory Board with Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service, Wise County has put together a program for Wise County citizens to learn more on how to protect themselves from identity theft.

            Representatives from the Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) will be at the Weatherford College Wise County Campus on Tuesday, November 27^th starting at 5:30 p.m. to educate us more on identity theft and how you can keep it from happening to you.

            Long before the internet (or Google for that Matter) was around, identity thieves could steal your identity by going through your trash to find personally identifying information on papers and documents you had thrown out like bills and other documents.  Moreover, thieves could also use phone scams to find out your personally identifying information.  The thief could then use this information to do harm in many ways.  The rapid growth of identity theft is due to multiple ways in which we live our lives and the process of information. 

            The Internet has made transmission of our personally identifying information quick and easy, and quite often less secure. We can access bank and credit card accounts online, pay bills online, and shop and make credit card transactions online.  All of these advancements make things quicker and more convenient, but they also pose risks to our personal information and personal credit.

            Many examples of identity theft are: credit card ID theft, bank fraud ID theft, internet ID theft, stolen ID theft (via the mail), phishing ID theft and skimming ID theft.  This program will provide information and examples of all kinds of identity theft.

            This program should be very valuable to everyone who attends.  Registration for the meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. at the Weatherford College Wise County campus located on Highway 380 between Decatur and Bridgeport.  We will have a hamburger supper provided from 5:30-6:00 p.m.  The informational program will start at 6:00 p.m. and conclude around 7:30 p.m.  Cost of the program will be $5 per person.  Please contact the Wise County, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service located at 206 S. State St., Decatur, or call at (940) 627-3341 to pre-register by November 26^th.