Identity theft growing, you could be next victim

A lecture on identity theft was presented by FBI Special Agent Mickey Roberts recently at the Senior Center in Gallatin. Agent Roberts is based in St. Joseph. He covers 17 counties, including Daviess.

“There isn’t a lot of good news,” Agent Roberts said. “Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America. Even if you follow all the rules, you still may become a victim.”

There are two types of identity thieves out there. One will just steal your credit card and go to town with it. The other type of thief will go to a bit more trouble. That thief will steal identifying information and open a new credit card account in your name.

All a thief needs to do to impersonate his victim is get his hands on a Social Security number, or a driver’s license number, or a credit card number, or an ATM card, or a telephone calling card or any other revealing financial documents. With that and a few more tidbits, like date of birth and mother’s maiden name, and the thief is all set to spend your money.

Identity theft is a 10 billion dollar problem that affects 1 out of every 200 Americans. Some 500,000 people will become victims of identity theft this year.

For a crook, identity theft is easy work, involves minimal risk, and can be lucrative.

Don’t think it could happen to you? You’re too poor for anybody to bother stealing from?

Consider this true story from Agent Roberts:

A lady in Albany went to the bank to get a car loan. The bank refused to give her the loan. The bank told her she already had loans for $235,000 in farm equipment in her name. This had been going on for 18 months and the woman knew nothing about it. Turns out, the thief had actually been paying a minimum on the debts so he could keep up the scam without alerting his victim.

The thief was a guy living in town that Agent Roberts had already helped send to prison once for the same crime. Apparently, when he got out of prison he talked his wife into running the scam for him. The wife helped the police and now the guy is being prosecuted — again.

Generally victims of credit and banking fraud are liable for no more than the first $50 of the loss.

But Agent Roberts says, “You may not have to pay, but we all pay. The bill is carried over to the consumer, in much the same way we all pay for shoplifting.”

And the price paid for identity theft isn’t just money. There’s the human cost. Victims are left to pretty much resolve the problem on their own. They get saddled with a compromised credit history. It may take months, maybe even years, to straighten out their finances. In the meantime, victims may not be able to get a job, purchase a car or qualify for mortgage.

Identity thieves used to just steal somebody’s wallet. They still do that, plus a few other clever tricks.

How they steal —

Dumpster Diving – when the bad guys root around in your trash looking for financial information. Do you get those “pre-approved” credit card offers in the mail and throw them away unopened? Don’t. Shred them up.

Shoulder surfing – thieves wander around stores or ATM machines or phone booths to get a glimpse of your driver’s license number and memorize it. Or they overhear you giving it to a clerk.

Mail theft – stealing information right out of your mailbox, like credit and banking statements

Computerized Access – Don’t add to it. There’s no reason to give out your social security number.

Telemarketing – never give out information

Internal Access – corrupt individuals within an organization getting information from personnel or customer files.

Skimming – this is going on already on the coast but is coming our way. It involves a little meter type device that is able to scan the bar code on your credit cards. For example, a waiter can carry this around on his belt just like a cell phone, pass your credit card in front of it, then download the information on a home computer.

Phishing Emails – this involves culprits sending out some 100,000 emails at a time. They’ll tell you there’s a problem with their computers and ask you to go to a separate link. The home page looks real enough; it’s the next page the bad guys have set up.

As there are two thing you can do right away to help keep from being a victim: First, get your social security number off of your drivers license. Contact your Department of Motor Vehicles and request a different number. Second, do not have your SSN or driver’s license number printed on your checks.

Social security numbers are used everywhere and shouldn’t be, agent Roberts said. Release your SSN only when absolutely necessary.

Remember the two things you most want to protect — your social security number and your mother’s maiden name. If a thief gets hold of these two things, then, voila, he can pretty much claim to be you.

To reduce your chances of becoming a victim, reduce the amount of personal data you have “floating around out there.” Be mindful to minimize what a thief can steal — from what you carry in your wallet to how you dispose of your trash.

Order your credit report at least once a year from each of the three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian (formerly TRW) and Trans Union.

Agent Roberts said that starting in January of next year everybody will get one free credit report per year. This is a provision of the recently enacted Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act by the Federal Trade Commission. It is taking a while to set up this system. It will be on the west coast first. It should be available in our area around March 2005.

When shopping online, do business with companies that provide a secure site. Look for sites that read https. The “s” means it’s secure. Or look for a padlock icon.

Emails are not secure, agent Roberts says. “No legitimate institution will ask you to send personal information by email.”

If you are a victim, act quickly to fix the damage.

Take a lot of notes and keep a journal. Make out a report with the local police. Contact the three major credit bureaus. Contact the creditor. Call the Social Security Administration if they are involved. Don’t cover expenses chalked up to you fraudulently.

If you should become the victim of identity theft, don’t give up and don’t give in, Agent Roberts says.

See www.ftc.gov for more information on identity theft. For online fraud go to www.ifccfbi.gov.

For more information regarding identity theft, contact the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse at www.privacyrights.org.