MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- With the world's growing dependency on electronic information come easier opportunities for people who make a living stealing off of others.
Financial and legal experts offer tips on how to combat such enemies and what to do if you should find yourself a victim of identity theft or financial fraud.
Keeping a watchful eye on your financial dealings is key to preventing such situations, but can easily fall to the wayside in the military lifestyle, according to Gunnery Sgt. Dionisios Nicholas, Station Judge Advocate legal services chief.
"We're busy people with busy lives," said Nicholas. "Marines deploy and that makes it harder to keep track of everything."
As hard as it may seem sometimes, vigilance is the best way to deter problems such as fraudulent charges to a persons account, noted Nicholas.
"If people are proactive and aware of their surroundings and purchases they lessen the potential for problems in the future," said Nicholas.
If individuals detect a discrepancy in their records, there are certain steps that are vital to rectifying the problem, noted Nicholas.
"People should immediately contact their financial institute and have them freeze the account in question," said Nicholas.
Another important step is to notify major creditors about the problem, according to Tani Butler, Iwakuni's Navy Federal Credit Union assistant manager.
"Trans Union, Equifax and Experian are the three major creditors that people can contact," said Butler. "You can ask them to put a fraud alert on your file so that no new credit can be granted without your approval."
Finally, victims should report the incident to the local authorities and get a copy of the report in case their bank or creditors need proof of the crime later on.
For more information on preventing identity theft, or if you are a victim of identity theft, call the legal office at 253-5591.
"We try to educate our customers about the dangers of theft and fraud," said Butler. "The more people know ahead of time the less likely they are to be vulnerable to something happening."