Full Notification

The Sheboygan Police Department would like to remind citizens you can protect your identity and personal information by considering the following;

• Limit what you carry when you go out; taking identification credit and debit cards as you need. Leave your social security card at home. Do not store pin numbers or passwords in your wallet that would allow access to your financial information.
   
• Be alert to impersonators. Don’t give out personal information on the phone or over the internet unless you initiated the contact or know who you are dealing with.
   
• Be aware of phone scams in which individuals identifying themselves as legitimate businesses or even family members requesting you to urgently send money via a 3^rd party. This includes a family member being involved in an accident or even is incarcerated, “in jail,” requesting money for bail or an attorney. Always check with other family members or individuals to ensure it is a legitimate request.
   
• Be leery of purchasing large ticket items such as vehicles, via on-line classified venues such as Craig’s List, E-Bay. If it’s too good to be true; it probably is. If you are selling an item, never accept a check from a 3^rd party, especially when the amount is in excess of the advertised price.
   
• Look for a “lock” before you send personal or financial information online. A “lock” icon on the status bar of your internet browser or “https,” means your information will be encrypted when transmitted.

• Before you dispose of a mobile device, remove the subscriber identity module (SIM) card from it. Remove the phone book, lists of calls made and received, voice mails, messages send and received organized folders, web search history and photos. Same precautions and more should be considered for disposing of a computer.