Capital One Urges Consumers to Learn About the Dangers of Fraud and Identity Theft During National Consumer Protection Week

Capital One Urges Consumers to Learn About the Dangers of Fraud
and Identity Theft During National Consumer Protection Week 


MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 9  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Capital One joins a group of
government agencies and national advocacy organizations in support of the
seventh annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), February 6-12, 2005.
This year's theme, "Identity Theft: When Fact Becomes Fiction," focuses on
minimizing the risk of identity theft and taking fast action to contain any
harm if an identity thief strikes.

"Capital One applauds the efforts of the Federal Trade Commission and other
organizations involved with National Consumer Protection Week to inform
consumers about identity theft and the steps they can take to help protect
themselves," said Diana Don Colby, director of financial education for Capital
One.  "Consumers should also be aware of the dangers of credit card fraud as
it, too, can be frustrating, costly and time-consuming for victims to correct."

Any unauthorized use of your credit card is considered fraud.  With identity
theft, however, criminals steal and use other personal information -- like
social security numbers or birthdates -- to assume your identity and make
purchases or open up credit card or other accounts in your name.

Don Colby offers these tips consumers can use to minimize their risk of
becoming victim to either of these insidious crimes:

  * Sign credit and charge cards as soon as they arrive -- This simple step
    offers a layer of protection when using a card as vendors or retailers
    are required to check the signature on the card to that of the
    purchaser.

  * Save receipts to compare with billing statements -- Saving receipts to
    cross-check against monthly credit card billing statements helps ensure
    that there are no fraudulent charges.

  * Shred receipts and bills -- Many incidents of credit card fraud and
    identity theft involve criminals who sift through lost or stolen mail
    and trash bins containing receipts and other items with personally-
    identifiable information.  Consumers should shred receipts and bills
    before throwing them away to safeguard against "dumpster divers."

  * Keep a record of account numbers, expiration dates, phone numbers, and
    addresses of each credit card company in a safe place -- In the event
    that a credit card is lost or stolen, having a record of credit card and
    account information stored in a safe place ensures consumers can quickly
    notify the issuer and deal with the matter quickly.

  * Review credit reports regularly for accuracy -- The best method
    consumers can use to help protect themselves against credit card fraud
    and identity theft is to regularly review credit reports.  Credit
    reports are now available for little or no cost through many online
    resources.



For more information and protection tips, consumers can visit
http://www.capitalone.com/.

About Capital One

Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One Financial Corporation
(http://www.capitalone.com/) is a bank holding company whose principal
subsidiaries, Capital One Bank and Capital One, F.S.B., offer consumer lending
products and Capital One Auto Finance, Inc., offers automobile and other motor
vehicle financing products. Capital One's subsidiaries collectively had 48.6
million accounts and $79.9 billion in managed loans outstanding as of December
31, 2004. Capital One, a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest providers
of MasterCard and Visa credit cards in the world. Capital One trades on the New
York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 500
index. 

DATASOURCE: Capital One Financial Corporation



CONTACT:  Diana Don Colby, Director, Financial Education, of Capital One

Financial Corporation, [phone], ; or Alison

Athay of APCO Worldwide, [phone], or , for

Capital One Financial Corporation



Web site:  http://www.capitalone.com/ 

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