Dallas College takes the privacy and security of the personal information within our care seriously. While we maintain multiple safeguards to protect personal information, we are implementing additional security measures designed to prevent a recurrence of such an attack.
Dallas College is committed to protecting the security and confidentiality of your personal information.
Steps You Can Take to Protect Against Identity Theft and Fraud
If you believe you may have been affected in relation to any incident, you may take action directly to further protect against possible identity theft or financial loss. We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review your account statements, and to monitor your credit reports and explanation of benefits forms for suspicious activity. Under U.S. law you are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free 1-877-322-8228. You may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of your credit report.
At no charge, you can also have these credit bureaus place a “fraud alert” on your file that alerts creditors to take additional steps to verify your identity prior to granting credit in your name. Note, however, that because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you, it may also delay your ability to obtain credit while the agency verifies your identity. As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the others are notified to place fraud alerts on your file. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, or should you have any questions regarding your credit report, please contact any one of the agencies listed below.
Equifax
P.O. Box 105069
Atlanta, GA 30348
800-525-6285
equifax.com
Experian
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
888-397-3742
experian.com
You may also place a security freeze on your credit reports. A security freeze prohibits a credit bureau from releasing any information from a consumer’s credit report without the consumer’s written authorization. However, please be advised that placing a security freeze on your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prevent the timely approval of any requests you make for new loans, credit mortgages, employment, housing, or other services. If you have been a victim of identity theft, and you provide the credit bureau with a valid police report, it cannot charge you to place, lift or remove a security freeze. In all other cases, a credit bureau may charge you a fee to place, temporarily lift, or permanently remove a security freeze. You will need to place a security freeze separately with each of the three major credit bureaus listed above if you wish to place a freeze on all of your credit files.
To find out more on how to place a security freeze, you can use the following contact information:
Instances of known or suspected identity theft should be reported to law enforcement, your Attorney General, and the FTC. You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, and the steps you can take to protect yourself, by contacting your state Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580, www.ftc.gov/idtheft, 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. You can also further educate yourself about placing a fraud alert or security freeze on your credit file by contacting the FTC or your state’s Attorney General.