The thought of becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft can be scary. Luckily, there are things you can do to help protect yourself to minimize the effects if your accounts are compromised.

Three easy steps you can take to help secure your accounts right now.

If you have not logged into your account online, do that!  Register your account and choose a unique username and password if you haven’t already.  Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA).  If your phone is lost or stolen, auto-lock features or "location tracking" services can help prevent unauthorized access and assist with recovery.

Reminder: This makes it harder for a fraudster to pretend to be you. If you don’t register with your username and your unique password, it is much easier for a fraudster to take over your account.

Provide your email addresses and phone numbers for security alerts. For banks, set alerts for withdrawals and deposits. For credit cards set the alerts to come to your email or text for every transaction that occurs.  With alerts, if a fraudulent charge or withdrawal occurs you can do something about it right away instead of waiting for the statement to come in the mail.

Review security alerts immediately and if there is unauthorized or suspicious account activity and you believe one of your accounts has been compromised, immediately change your passwords, then contact the Customer service at your bank, credit card company, or other entity to assist you in securing your account.

Be sure to use a known phone number from the back of your card, or your actual statement, etc. Don’t trust an internet search.