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Avoiding Identity Theft

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Avoiding Identity Theft
Gary Lee
Kaplan University
CM 220
Kelley Gordon

Avoiding Identity Theft Ben Franklin once said “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” Well this has never been truer than in today’s hi-tech society where our personal information flows freely over the internet. Identity theft has become a wide-spread crime committed by thieves who use stolen personal information to commit various types of fraud. Simply put, identity theft is a crime that takes your personal information and uses it to open unauthorized accounts, make purchases and acquire loans without the victim’s knowledge. So in order to protect against identity theft citizens should understand how identity thieves work, guard their personal information, and learn what measures to take if this does happen to them. No one is safe from identity theft but the elderly are especially vulnerable. Americans over the age of 60 are the fastest growing segment of computer and Internet users today. And according to the FBI, they are also the targets of identity theft more often than anyone else (FBI, 2011). Identity thieves target senior citizens because they don't regularly check credit-card statements, review credit reports or monitor their bank statements. Identity theft can be broken down into two separate categories (Identity Theft & Identity Fraud) since it is actually a two part crime. Identity theft is the actual act of obtaining personal information of an individual without his or her knowledge. Many of these thieves never use the information they obtain; they sell it to a third party for cash. Identity fraud is the actual use of the personal information to obtain financial gain such as unauthorized purchases or creating fraudulent accounts in the victim’s name.

Avoiding Identity Theft Approximately 15 million U.S residents have their identities stolen each year with financial losses totaling upwards of $50 billion dollars. This equates to approximately 7% of all adults having their identity stolen and misused for an average $3,500 dollars each (TransUnion, 2011). Many of these stolen identities are obtained through scams such as phishing emails, dumpster diving for information or just plain old fashioned stolen wallets. According to TransUnion credit company 32% of identity theft victims discovered a family member or relative was responsible for stealing their identity. That same study found 18% were victimized by a friend, neighbor or in-home employee (Transunion, 2011). Identity theft can also happen on the corporate level where the individuals have no control whatsoever. Identity theft affects individuals in many ways. First and foremost is financial; it takes the average identity theft victim $500 dollars out of pocket expense and 30 hours of personal time to resolve an identity theft crime (Transunion 2011). Even though victims are not liable for the bills accumulated by the thieves they will have to endure the anxiety and frustration of spending months or even years, restoring their good name and credit history to its prior status. Financial institutions such as banks and lenders usually only hold the victim responsible for the first $50 dollars of a fraudulent charge but it is often up to the victim to prove his or her innocence with very little help from these institutions. So even with new and improved laws to protect the victims in these crimes and better methods of catching the thieves that perpetrate them we as individuals are still often presumed guilty until proven innocent.

Avoiding Identity Theft
The first order of business for any identity thief is to gain knowledge of an individual’s personal information. This can be accomplished by something as simple as a lost or stolen wallet, mail or even dumpster diving for discarded documents with personal information on it. Phishing is the method of choice used by most identity thieves today. This technique involves a fraudulent email that looks like an official notice or questionnaire from a business such as the individuals banking institution or credit card company. The email will ask the person to verify or fill in some personal information and thinking they are filling out an official document they unknowingly give their personal information to the thieves. According to Jeff Orloff of All Spammed Up.Com phishing scams cost corporations 98 billion dollars a year (Orloff, 2012).
Other methods of obtaining one’s personal information are not so sophisticated. Searching through trash or (dumpster diving) is a common technique or maybe something as simple as a stolen or lost wallet. This will give the identity thief everything he or she needs to steal an individual’s identity. In recent years identity thieves have moved more in the high tech direction with what is known as card skimming. Skimming is when an individual’s credit card information is stolen via a device that reads and stores the information off the magnetic strip stored on the card. These devices can be carried in the pocket of any cashier or restaurant host making it easy for them to swipe your card in an instant. The methods used by these thieves are getting better by the day so we have to stay diligent and stay one step ahead of them.
Avoiding Identity Theft Preventing identity theft is not a difficult thing to do; common sense is ones biggest ally in this endeavor. Phishing emails can be very difficult if not impossible to spot, so the number one rule here is never open a link from an email. If you want to check the validity of the email close the email completely and go directly to website that sent it such as the financial institution or credit card company and log in there. If they have any questions or comments for the customer they will be posted in the account information area. One of the most common ways of stealing an identity is dumpster diving, this is also the easiest to overcome. Shred, Shred, Shred. Shredding documents only takes a few seconds and insures all of the private information stays private.

Card skimming has become a favored technique in recent years; it is quick and simple to do with the right tools. Anyone using a credit card can fall victim to this scam. Preventing this from happing requires that you never let your card out of your site. Always watch as your card is being swiped even at restaurants. Another common place to find skimmers is attached to ATM machines and other card readers. When you approach a card reader of any type always inspect the slot for attached devices or other indications that the machine may have been tampered with, if the machine does not look quite right do not insert the card. In short identity thieves are getting better and more sophisticated at stealing personal information so we as individuals have to stay diligent in our effort to stay one step ahead of them.

Avoiding Identity Theft A controversial topic among many is Identity Theft Protection Services. I am sure you have seen the commercials where the gentleman publishes his social security number on the side of a delivery truck in order to prove how safe his identity is with this particular company protecting it. Well what he doesn’t tell you according to (Zetter, 2010) is that his identity has been stolen 13 times since he made his social security number public. Yes these companies will for a fee monitor an individual’s credit or public records for any suspicious charges and will help clean up the mess left behind in the wake of identity theft and assist the victim in rebuilding his or her credit. What they don’t tell you is they don't monitor certain types of identity theft, such as prior instances of identity theft, Social Security number fraud, debit card fraud, criminal identity fraud which is when a criminal assumes your identity when arrested and medical fraud which is basically the same as criminal identity fraud but the thief uses the victim’s identity to receive medical treatment According to an article in SmartMoney if an individual takes time to monitor his or her credit and takes the necessary steps to ensure its protection from these thieves then spending money for a service that can do nothing more cannot be justified (Grant, 2008). But for the person that often time procrastinates and seldom checks the status of his or her credit reports then the service may actually be beneficial. Simply put a protection service can do no more to protect the credit of an individual than the individual himself. The real question then is do I want to pay a company to monitor my credit or do I want to do it myself?

Avoiding Identity Theft If a person should find themselves the victim of identity theft there are steps that should be taken as soon as possible. If someone suspects he or she has been the victim of identity theft the first thing he or she needs to do is request a copy of all three credit reports. Individuals are allowed one free copy each year. If fraudulent activity is present then time is of the essence. According to the Federal Trade Commission there are four essential steps one should take in the event of an identity theft crime. Step one is to place a fraud alert on your credit reports, and review your credit reports. Step two is close the accounts that you know, or believe, to have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Step three File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and step four is to file a local police report where the identity theft occurred ("Defend: recover," ). Another important step is to notify credit card companies and banks in writing. Always send your letters by certified mail, and request a return receipt so you can document what the company received and when. Keep detailed files on all transactions for later use if needed. Always get a copy of the police report or at the very least, the number of the report. It can help you deal with financial institutions and creditors who need proof of the crime later. Unfortunately, most first time identity-theft victims are under the assumption that the police, financial institutions, and others in official positions will help them, but this often times just isn’t the case. Many times it is up to the victim to clear his or her name with very little help if any. Identity theft is not going away anytime soon so we as individuals must rely on good common sense, education, and precautionary measures to protect the information the thieves so desperately want. This can be done by keeping all personal information in a safe place, shredding personal documents and monitoring credit reports. Remember an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

References PR Newswire US PR, N. (2012, October 28). How to Catch a Phish: In Time for National Consumer Protection Week, Visa Releases Tips to Spot Email Phishing Scams. Retrieved from Kaplan Library

FBI. (2011). The fbi. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/aboutus/investigate/cyber/identity_theft

Transunion. (2011). Identity theft facts- transunion.com. Retrieved from http://www.transunion.com/personal-credit/identity-theft-and-fraud/identity-theft-facts.page

Grant, K. B. (2008, July 14). Smartmoney. Retrieved from http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/family-money/4-reasons-to-forgo-credit-monitoring-services-23454/

Orloff, J. (2012, September 5). Phishing: A Look Inside the Statistics. Anti spam, anti phishing and email security in business - AllSpammedUp.com. Retrieved October 30, 2012, from http://www.allspammedup.com/2012/09/phishing-a-look-inside-the-statistics/
Defend: recover from identity theft. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/defend.html Zetter, K. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/05/lifelock-identity-theft/

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