The City of Seal Beach works to protect the lives and property of those who live and work in our community, along with those who come to visit. The information age and advanced technologies have presented new challenges, such as protecting people from the theft of their identity.

Identity theft is stealing and assuming a person’s identity in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person’s name. Fortunately, there is a lot that each of us can do to protect ourselves from identity theft, such as securing your computer, protecting your mail and trash, and identifying the signs of fraud.

Some of the common methods of identity theft are skimming, phishing, dumpster diving, mail theft, and the use of fraudulent websites.

If you are a victim of identity theft, contact one of the national credit reporting companies listed below and put an alert on your credit. The company you contact must notify the other two companies of this fraud alert. The initial fraud report is active for 90 days. You should also cancel all compromised or open accounts.

Equifax

Website: https://www.equifax.com/

Phone: (800) 525-6285

Experian

Website: https://www.experian.com/

Phone: (888) 397-3742

Transunion

Website: https://www.experian.com/

Phone: (800) 680-7289

Please feel free to contact the Seal Beach Police Department at 562-594-7232 for more information.