Library Roundup

Here at the Goshen Public Library, people know that they can come to the reference desk with any questions they may have and that we’ll do whatever we can to get them the information they need. Recently, we’ve noticed an increase in questions regarding scams and identity theft. We thought that this would be a good opportunity to spread awareness about these dangers to our community.

If you find yourself the victim of identity theft, it’s important that you report this to the State and Federal government as quickly as possible. For NY, this would be done through the New York Department of State Division of Consumer Protection. They can be found online at https://dos.ny.gov/consumer-protection or by calling (800) 697-1220.

For the Federal Government, reporting is handled by the Federal Trade Commission and is easy to find at IdentityTheft.gov or in Spanish at RobodeIdentidad.gov. Through the website you can get a personal recovery plan that walks you through the steps and allows you to track your progress as you work to restore your identity. You can also report identity theft to the FTC over the phone by calling (877) 438-4338.

How to prevent identity theft

One important way to prevent anyone else from opening a credit account in your name is by getting a credit freeze. A credit freeze prevents others from pulling your credit history which stops anyone from opening a credit card or getting a loan. This can be accomplished by contacting the three credit reporting agencies, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. An important caveat is that if you need to open a credit account for yourself, you’ll need to contact the agencies to unfreeze your credit. More information can be found through the FTC website but you can also stop by at the reference desk and we would be happy to put you in touch with the correct agencies.

To stay on top of any potential cases of identity theft, we recommend making sure you get a copy of your credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com – this website is the only Federally authorized source for free credit reports from all three agencies.

Library offers information on protecting identity and scam prevention

We recognize that this might be a lot of information to absorb; to further help our community stay safe, we have free bookmarks and pamphlets related to identity theft, scam prevention, and credit repair both at our reference desk and in our lobby. Next time you’re in the library borrowing a book, stop by at the reference desk and take a bookmark on the subject. Hopefully you’ll never need to use the information printed on it, but in case of disaster, you might be thankful that you have it.