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IDENTITY THEFT. What is Identity Theft? Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal identifying information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. (Federal Trade Commission). LV.
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What is Identity Theft? Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal identifying information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. (Federal Trade Commission) LV
FACTS ABOUT IDENTITY THEFT • It is estimated that as many as 10 MILLION Americans have their identities stolen each year. (Federal Trade Commission) • In 2010, identity theft resulted in the loss of $37 BILLION dollars.* • In 2010, Louisiana ranked 22nd among the 50 states in identity theft complaints. Approximately 72.4 complaints per 100,000 population. The top 5 states were FL, AZ, TX, CA, and NV. Arkansas and Mississippi were 31st and 19th respectively. (FTC 02/10, Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book – 2009) • For victims of identity theft, many hours and hundreds of dollars are spent in repairing their good name and credit record. • Victims may lose job opportunities, be denied loans, and even be arrested for crimes they did not commit. *2011 Javelin Strategy and Research LV
WHAT IDENTITY THIEVES WANT MOST • YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, AND PHONE NUMBER • YOUR DATE OF BIRTH • YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER (SSN) • YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE NUMBER • YOUR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION • YOUR BANK ACCOUNT INFORMATION • YOUR MOTHER’S MAIDEN NAME LV
How Your Information Can Be Used ….. • THIEVES: • call credit card issuer to change billing address • open new credit cards in your name • establish phone or wireless accounts in your name • open bank account in your name • buy a car by taking out an auto loan in your name • obtain identification issued with their picture, in your name • give your name to the police during an arrest LV
OVERVIEW OF EACH TYPE OF IDENTITY THEFT • Here’s a brief overview and description of each type of identity theft, based on Federal Trade Commission complaint data: SOURCE: FTC.GOV LV
WHO IS AN IDENTITY THIEF? A BURGLAR MAIL THIEF AN EMPLOYEE COMPUTER HACKER PHONE SCAM ARTIST “PHISHING/VISHING” A CAR THIEF A PICK POCKET LV
DUMPSTER DIVING An El Paso business called Tax Matters advised that a new employee dumped personal and business documents, such as canceled checks containing account/routing numbers and W2’s containing social security numbers into a public dumpster. Tax Matters does IRS tax returns for businesses and the general public. A spokesman for the business stated that the employee should have shredded the material. (Multimedia Journalist – 5/31/11) In Houston TX, an individual found medical records containing Social Security numbers and Medicare numbers in a public dumpster behind a 99 Cents Store. The information came from a company called Express EMS Services. The company was an ambulance service that has since gone out of business. The Texas Attorney General’s Office is looking into the matter. (KTRK 1/15/09) LV
DUMPSTER DIVING • Indianapolis – KB Pizza company who were contracted to operate Dominoes Pizza outlets throughout Indiana, failed to protect their former employees personal information by discarding them in a grocery store dumpster. (Shred Nations 5/13/11) • Cleveland, TX – Residents personal information was found in a city dumpster for a second time. (Shred Nations 5/21/11) • Charleston, SC – The County of Charleston and the City of Charleston, are using inmates to handle all the cities document shredding. (Shred Nations 5/09/11) Lawyers, Doctors, and restaurants are also known to have thrown employee and patients information into dumpsters. LV
MAIL THIEF • August 3, 2011 Eight Indicted for Counterfeit Check, Mail Theft, Identity Theft Conspiracy Scheme allegedly involved stealing mail from businesses in Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. • July 6, 2011 Mailbox break-ins prompt fears of identity theft FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno neighborhood is concerned about identity theft after thieves broke into several mail boxes over the holiday weekend, potentially exposing personal information belonging to dozens of residents. • June 20, 2011 Michigan City woman charged in mail theft case Over 400 pieces of mail, addressed to more than 100 LaPorte, Porter, Elkhart, Marshall and Kosciusko counties residents and businesses were stolen from multiple, authorized mail receptacles sometime between June 2010 and January 2011. LV
MAIL THIEF • June 10, 2011 Three Arrested For Mail Fraud Santa Maria, CA -- Three Santa Maria residents were arrested last Friday in connection with a mail and identity theft ring started last month. The three stole from more than 150 people in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. Police raided a Santa Maria home on the 500 block East Cook Street Friday. • June 30, 2011 Alabama postal worker indicted for mail theft A federal grand jury today indicted a U.S. Postal employee for mail violations, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and Christopher Nugent, assistant special agent in charge, U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General. LV
MAIL THIEF • May 10, 2011 Woman pleads guilty to stealing mail in four metro-east cities An unemployed Montana woman pleaded guilty Monday to stealing mail from residential mailboxes in four metro-east cities, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. • June 8, 2011 Mail Carrier Accused Of Stealing Customers' Mail PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- A Palm Springs mail carrier is being investigated for allegedly stealing customers' mail, an agent with the U.S Postal Service's Office of Inspector General confirmed today. LV
A BURGLAR OR CAR THIEF • May 10, 2011 Computer with private Reid Hospital information taken in home burglary A computer stolen from the home office of a Reid Hospital employee in early April may have contained files with personally identifiable information on approximately 20,000 Reid patients. • August 2010 Juvenile arrested in car burglary/identity theft scheme A fifth suspect was arrested in the rash of Osceola County, FL, burglaries and identity theft cases. Hundreds of stolen items, including jewelry, personal identifications, credit cards and furniture were found at one of the suspect’s home and three storage units. In addition to the suspect’s using victims’ identification cards, credit cards and bank checks to purchase the items throughout Florida, they also applied for credit, filed tax returns, and purchased vehicles. Approximately 366 stolen items and 147 identity theft victims were identified from 23 Central Florida jurisdictions. • July 19, 2011 Five suspects arrested involved in widespread car burglary and Identity theft ring - AL The group arrested are part of the national “Felony Lane Gang”, which steals personal identification items and checks before attempting to fraudulently cash the checks at local banks. They are operating in the Southeast U.S. This group was in possession of $32,000 at the time of arrest. LV
PICKPOCKET Federal Reserve Chairman Hit by High-Tech Pickpocket Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and his wife were among the victims of the tech-savvy pickpocket and ID theft Ring Cannon to the Wiz. Wiz is a national ring of some 200 light-fingered scammers that have struck throughout the U.S. for the last couple of years. The group was led by Clyde Gray, 52, of Waldorf, Maryland, who went by the name “Big Head” and “Poochie”. The group was based in Chicago, but wandered throughout the U.S., and specialized in stealing identity and bank account information through pick pocketing and other means, including smuggling checks out of a Wash D.C., charity group, and paying an employee at a D.C. medical office to copy patients’ bank account information. Some members of the ring allegedly traveled to sporting events, such as the Final Four basketball games, to pickpocket fans. The gang then used the information to cash checks through the victims’ bank accounts in several states. They reportedly kept ID-producing gear and laptops in their cars, so as to rapidly crank out fake driver’s licenses to exploit stolen credit cards and checks within minutes of lifting them. According to court documents, the crooks used the bank fraud scheme known as “split deposits”, which simply means that they write a check to one victims’ bank account on checks stolen from another victim, then withdraw the money and disappear.
PICKPOCKET Mrs. Bernanke was at a Starbucks when a Wiz member grabbed her purse from the back of her chair. It contained a checkbook for the couple’s joint Wachovia bank account, as well as her driver’s license, Social Security card, and four credit cards. The checks listed the couple’s bank account, name, home address and phone number. Six days later, a Wiz member entered another D.C. area bank and posed as another identity-theft victim. He deposited two fraudulent checks in the amount of $900 into the victims’ account. One of the checks was Mr. Bernanke’s and he obtained $9,000 through this transaction. Gray was apprehended and pled guilty in July 2009 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in a scheme that resulted in losses of at Least $2.1 million from 10 financial institutions. Nine other co-conspirators have been charged to date. (Threat Level, August 26, 2009) Identity theft is a serious crime that affects millions of Americans each year. Our family was but one of 500 separate instances traced to one crime ring. I am grateful for the law enforcement officers who patiently and diligently work to solve and prevent these financial crimes.” (Ben Bernanke, Newsweek 2009)
ANATOMY OF BANK FRAUD VIA IDENTITY THEFT AND PICK POCKETING • PICK POCKETS AT LSU AND OTHER SPORTING EVENTS USE INFORMATION TO COMMIT BANK FRAUD VIA IDENTITY THEFT PICK POCKET IDENTITY THEFT CRIMINAL SPORTING EVENT VICTIM’S INFO BANK FRAUD PROCEEDS VICTIM LV
EMPLOYEE THEFT • August 4, 2011 Kaiser employee ID theft suspect pleads no contest SACRAMENTO, CA - A benefits clerk, who was busted while about to undergo liposuction surgery using fraudulently-obtained credit card information from one of her victims, has pleaded no contest to identity theft. • July 12, 2011 Nurse Accused Of Illegally Accessing Thousands Of Medical Records A nurse who worked for Memorial Hospital is accused of accessing 2,500 medical records for personal use. Investigators say Lori Neil was accessing these records without a medical, billing, or operational reason. • June 30, 2011 Philadelphia man convicted in identity theft that used bank data A Philadelphia man has been convicted of running a multistate identity-theft ring that stole up to $3 million, in part by persuading female financial-services employees to slip him customer-account information. LV
EMPLOYEE THEFT • Texas Lottery Winners on “Not So Lucky” list due to former Lottery employee stealing thousands of SSNs, paper reports (Houston Chronicle - November 2008) A 39 year old computer analyst who worked for 8 years with the Texas Lottery Commission, copied onto a disk, names, Social Security numbers, addresses and prize amounts of approximately 89,000 former lottery winners. In addition, he was also in possession of sensitive information pertaining to thousands of lottery employees, retailers, and vendors. The former employee stated that he wanted the information “for possible future reference as a programmer at other state agencies”. The Lottery Commission notified all affected winners to place fraud alerts on their credit files. * The former employee was working in the same capacity for the Texas Comptroller’s office when the breach was found. LV
LOCAL CASE • Police say man used 31 officers’ identities in • thefts • Authorities on Monday accused a Baton Rouge man of stealing the identities of 31 current and former police officers, saying he spent his days buying merchandise from around the state and his nights selling it on the streets.Alton K. Davis, 47, then went to the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino, where he spent about $150,000 during the past six months, authorities say in an affidavit of probable cause filed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.DATA CAME FROM A PRINTOUT SHEET FROM THE CITY/PARISH ATTORNEY’S OFFICE IN 2005 CONDUCTED IDENTITY FRAUD IN BATON ROUGE, ZACHARY, HAMMOND, NEW ORLEANS, HOUMA, AND LAKE CHARLES LV Baton Rouge Advocate - Mar 24, 2009 - Page: 1A
PHONE SCAMS State police report scam artist by Mike Gleason - Bennington Banner 12/06 - Vermont — Several people throughout the Dorset area have been victimized by a phone scam, according to the Vermont State Police. Allegedly, a person has been calling people, claiming to be a friend or family member of the victim. If asked why the voice is unfamiliar, the caller claims to have a broken nose or be using a damaged pay phone. The caller claims to be mugged or kidnapped in Canada, and must turn to the victim for financial help, generally around $500. Area woman loses $7,000 in bail money phone scam Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 12/31/2007 - DOVER -- An 80-year-old woman in rural Dover was swindled out of $7,000, according to the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office. The increasingly common scam involves people posing as grandchildren who need money to get out of jail, according to detective Brad Nelson. He said the scams happen over the phone with swindlers claiming to be calling from Canada. Grandson with Broken Down Car Needs Western Union Transfer Scam Kansas - Wichita Police are warning seniors about a new scam that's surfaced in the Wichita area. Lieutenant Hassan Ramzah with the Wichita Police Department Financial Crimes unit says the department has received eight calls from senior citizens since late December. The potential victims include seven women and one man ages 54-86. Also phone scams can use Government agencies (IRS, etc), Financial Institutions, and Charity Groups (Red Cross), etc. LV
December 13, 2010 US: Hackers hit universities' database 'jackpots' Since 2008, 158 data breaches have compromised more than 2.3 million records at American higher education institutions, according to a recent report by Application Security, Inc, a US database safety company. .
COMPUTER HACKERS • KC man pleads guilty in hacking scheme at university Daniel Fowler, 21, admitted that he and another former student conspired for a year , to plunder the University of Central Missouri (Warrensburg) computer network by downloading large databases of student, alumni, staff and faculty information, which they later tried to sell. Fowler admitted that he helped develop a computer virus, which they placed on a thumb drive and installed on computers around the campus. In some cases they told victims that they wanted to show them vacation photos on the drive to get access to their computers. Once installed, the virus would allow conspirators to capture a user’s keystrokes, remotely access the infected computer, download files and turn on webcams. The pair tried to hijack a computer in the university president’s office, but an administrative assistant refused to plug the thumb drive into her computer. Fowler was arrested attempting to sell the stolen information to undercover federal agents. He had offered 90,000 personal identities from the university database for $35,0000. The university has since notified those affected and alerted them on what steps to take to detect fraud. LV
COMPUTER HACKERS EL Paso Independent School District Attorney: District Is Not Legally Liable For Computer Hacking In early September, hackers broke into the school district’s internal network, accessing thousands of Social Security numbers. More than 70,000 students and employees are at risk for identity theft. The El Paso ISD alerted the community about the breach the day it found out about it and negotiated a deal with a credit monitoring company to offer a 50 percent discount on anti-identity-theft services. The ELISD is not paying for those services. The school board’s attorney advised that the district is not legally liable for the hacking and is therefore limited in the options it can offer the community. He viewed it as the doctrine of “governmental immunity” and to pay for a service would be considered a gift of public funds, which is prohibited. The chief technology officer stated that his office is narrowing down the cost for a number of improvements to the district’s network security system, including the possibility of encrypting Social Security numbers. LV
COMPUTER HACKERS • August 29, 2011 Security breach has campus-wide reach Over 75,000 individuals associated with UW-Milwaukee have been told to monitor their financial records after officials discovered that a database containing their names and social security numbers may have been accessed during a computer security breach earlier this year. • August 23, 2011 Yale university admits staff and student personal information exposed on Google Yale University has notified about 43,000 faculty, staff, students and alumni that their names and Social Security numbers were publicly available via Google search for about 10 months. • May 4, 2011 Former UVM student sentenced in fraud case A former University of Vermont student accused of scamming friends and strangers with identity theft is being ordered to pay restitution and spend two years on supervised release LV
April 19, 2011 Students' personal information found at storage facility Central Ohio Technical College is offering free credit monitoring to more than 600 students after a filing cabinet of course-registration cards was accidentally sent to a storage facility. • April 14, 2011 School board loses memory stick with employee data The private information of thousands of Edmonton Public School Board employees has been missing for more than three weeks, CBC News has learned. • March 22, 2011 School District Mistakenly Releases ID Information BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- The Bloomfield Hills School District has accidentally revealed the names and Social Security numbers of 321 employees to two district parents following a Freedom of Information Act request. . • January 14, 2011 3 Universities Knocked by Security Breaches Over the last two months, three American universities have been mopping up from data breaches, the largest--at Ohio State University--affecting 760,000 people. The University of Wisconsin-Madison's security incident involved 60,000 people; and a St. Louis University breach affected staff employed by the university for five years or longer LV
A Broward County, FL, school employee was among 12 individuals arrested in a “massive” identity theft/bank fraud scheme. Jasmin Rembert worked in the school district’s teacher certification office, where she had access to personal information from a database of teachers. Prosecutors said she stole information such as names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers from numerous teachers. She then sold the information to other members of the criminal group. Other members of the group worked at various medical offices throughout Coral Springs and Fort Lauderdale, FL. There they stole personal patient information and sold it to other members of the criminal group. • A Broward County, FL, school employee was among 12 individuals arrested in a “massive” identity theft/bank fraud scheme. Jasmin Rembert worked in the school district’s teacher certification office, where she had access to personal information from a database of teachers. Prosecutors said she stole information such as names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers from numerous teachers. She then sold the information to other members of the criminal group. Other members of the group worked at various medical offices throughout Coral Springs and Fort Lauderdale, FL. There they stole personal patient information and sold it to other members of the criminal group. LV
FTC TOP 15 CONSUMER COMPLAINTSFOR 2008 • The top 15 complaint categories were: • Rank Category Complaints % • 1 Identity Theft 313,982 26 • 2 Third Party/Debt Collection 104,642 9 • 3 Shop-at-Home/Catalog Sales 52,615 4 • 4 Internet Services 52,102 4 • 5 Foreign Money Offers/Cft Check Scams 38,505 3 • 6 Credit Bureaus, Info Furnishers/Report Users 34,940 3 • 7 Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries 33,340 3 • 8 Television and Electronic Media 25,930 2 • 9 Banks and Lenders 22,890 2 IDENTITY THEFT HAS BEEN RANKED #1, THE LAST 11 YEARS LV
BP Laptop With Claimants' Personal Data Disappears A BP employee lost a laptop containing personal data belonging to thousands of residents who filed claims for compensation after the Gulf oil spill, a company spokesman said TuesdayJanuary 10, 2011 Tulane: Laptop stolen with W-2 info, S.S. numbers of each employee NEW ORLEANS -- A Tulane University-owned laptop was stolen last year that had a file containing private information of each person employed at the university in the past year, according to school officials.February 11, 2011 Online dating site eHarmony hacked Online dating giant eHarmony has begun urging its users to change their passwords, after being alerted by KrebsOnSecurity.com to a potential security breach of customer informationDecember 9, 2010 Cops: Driver's license official fed info to identity thieves An executive of the Illinois Secretary of State's driver's license division surrendered to authorities Wednesday after allegations he gave information to identity thieves in exchange for gift cards and sports tickets • BP Laptop With Claimants' Personal Data Disappears A BP employee lost a laptop containing personal data belonging to thousands of residents who filed claims for compensation after the Gulf oil spill, a company spokesman said Tuesday • January 10, 2011 Tulane: Laptop stolen with W-2 info, S.S. numbers of each employee NEW ORLEANS -- A Tulane University-owned laptop was stolen last year that had a file containing private information of each person employed at the university in the past year, according to school officials. • February 11, 2011 Online dating site eHarmony hacked Online dating giant eHarmony has begun urging its users to change their passwords, after being alerted by KrebsOnSecurity.com to a potential security breach of customer information • December 9, 2010 Cops: Driver's license official fed info to identity thieves An executive of the Illinois Secretary of State's driver's license division surrendered to authorities Wednesday after allegations he gave information to identity thieves in exchange for gift cards and sports tickets LV
December 9, 2010 Congress Exempts Physicians From Identity Theft 'Red Flags' Rule Congress has voted to exempt physicians from the Federal Trade Commission's antifraud identity theft regulation known as the "Red Flags" Rule. The Senate passed S. 3987, the Red Flag Program Clarification Act of 2010 (at the THOMAS website, type "S. 3987" in the search field after selecting "Bill Number"), on Nov. 30, and the House gave the go-ahead by voice vote on Dec. 7. LV
IDENTITY THEFT / TERRORISM • "Travel documents are as important as weapons," the report says. "Fraud is no longer just a problem of theft. At many entry points to vulnerable facilities, including gates for boarding aircraft, sources of identification are the last opportunity to ensure that people are who they say they are." 911 COMMISSION LV
CHILDREN AND IDENTITY THEFT • A study found that out of more than 43,265 children studied in the database of identity theft scans in the U.S. during 2009 and 2010, 4,311 of the children had their social security numbers stolen and used by someone else. • That’s 51 times higher than the rate of identity theft of adults in that same population. You youngest victim was 5 months old and 303 victims were under the age of five. The largest amount of fraud was $725,000 committed using the identity of a 16 year old girl. • The research found that in other things, such as home mortgages, huge utility bills, even hunting licenses and guns, were purchased using children’s social security numbers, names, and identities. CyLab at Carnegie Mellon University – Pitt PA LV
COLLEGE STUDENTS AND IDENTITY THEFT • College students comprise the single largest demographic of all identity theft victims at 34% • 50% of college students receive pre-approved credit card offers in the mail daily. (apartment mailboxes – garbage cans) • 48% of college students have their grades posted by Social Security number. • They frequently use social networks, easily accessible computer access, and open-door dorm rooms. LV
TERRORISM / IDENTITY THEFT FINANCIAL CRIMES • Terrorism and identity theft go hand inhand, experts say. The al-Qaida training manual includes provisions for trainees to leave camp with five fake personas, says Collins, who uses a copy of the manual to train law enforcement officials. Terrorists are regularly schooled in the art of subsisting off credit card fraud while livingin the United States, Collins said. JUDITH COLLINS – IDENTITY THEFT EXPERT – PROFESSOR AT MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY LV
TERRORISM / FINANCIAL FRAUD • The Millennium Plot terrorists, Ahmed Ressam and Mokhtar Haouari, allegedly used credit cardfraud, and even made plans to buy a gas stationand steal customer account numbers that way, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. And the indictment of terrorist suspect Ali SalehKahlah al-Marri, who has been linked to alleged Sept. 11 paymaster Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, alleged that al-Marri was arrested with a laptopcomputer that had 1,000 stolen credit cards on it, along with a host of Internet bookmarks pointing to fraud and fake ID-related sites. LV
IMPLICATIONS • Mark Rasch, once head of the Justice Department's Computer Crime unit and now a consultant with Solutionary Inc., said the fact that identity theft is as easy as it is makes terrorism watch lists essentially useless. LV
FLAWED IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM • System flaws repeatedly exposed Flaws in the nation's identification system are well known. According to congressional testimony, there are 240 valid forms of driver's licenses in the United States, and 10,000 different agenciescan issue birth certificates. Such documents, known as "breeder documents," are the cornerstones of identity theft. Because there are so many formats, it's nearly impossible to spot fakes, and there has long been consensus among the security community that a driver's license is an unreliable way to identify a person. In fact, last year, undercover congressional investigators were able to obtain valid driver's licenses from motor vehicle offices around the country using fake documents such as doctored birth certificates. The same investigative team used fake IDs to enter restricted areas in government buildings and airports in 2002. LV
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINSTIDENTITY THEFT • KEEP SENSITIVE INFORMATION FROM PRYING EYES. • STORE PERSONAL AND FINANCIAL RECORDS IN A LOCKED STORAGE DEVICE OR IN A PASSWORD PROTECTED FILE. • SHRED SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS YOU DON’T INTEND TO KEEP. *GIVE A COLLEGE STUDENT A SHREDDER! • AVOID GIVING YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER OUT WHEN POSSIBLE. • DON’T CARRY AROUND SOCIAL SECURITY CARDS OR UNNECESSARY CREDIT CARDS AND CHECKS. • REQUEST ELECTRONIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND ENROLL IN DIRECT DEPOSIT. • DON’T PLACE CHECKS INTO YOUR MAILBOX! • INSTALL AND UPDATE ANTI-VIRUS AND ANTI-MALWARE SOFTWARE ON YOUR COMPUTER. KEEP FIREWALL, BROWSERS, APPLICATIONS AND SOFTWARE UPDATES AS WELL. • DON’T PUBLISH BIRTH DATE, EMAIL ADDRESS, MOTHER’S MAIDEN NAME, PET’S NAME OR OTHER IDENTIFYING PERSONAL INFORMATION ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES. USE PRIVACY SETTINGS TO CONTROL WHO HAS ACCESS TO YOUR PROFILE. • USE STRONG PASSWORDS THAT COMBINE LETTERS, NUMBERS, AND SYMBOLS, THEN CHANGE THEM REGULARLY. • DON’T ACCESS UNSECURE WEBSITES OR TYPE IN PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION WHILE USING PUBLIC WI-FI ON MOBILE DEVICES, LAPTOPS, OR COMPUTERS. • TURN OFF BLUETOOTH AND WI-FI WHEN THEY ARE NOT BEING USED. • IF ONLINE, PROVIDE PERSONAL OR FINANCIAL INFORMATION ONLY ON SECURE SITES. TO RECONGNIZE THESE SITES, LOOK FOR A PADLOCK SYMBOL AND AN “s” AFTER THE “http” IN THE ADDRESS BAR. • BE VIGILANT IN MONITORING BANK AND CREDIT CARD STATEMENTS TO SPOT UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITY. • CRIMINALS WILL USUALLY TRY TO CHANGE THE PHYSICAL ADDRESS ON YOUR ACCOUNTS. LV
What to Do if Identity Theft Occurs …… • call the credit bureaus and get their help – ASAP Think about temporary or long term fraud alert. • lock thieves out of your accounts by changing all your account access information • report the crime to all relevant law enforcement authorities (obtain a police report and fraud affidavits) • report all fraudulent transactions to creditors • keep a log of everything you do to resolve problems
Know Your Rights ….. • Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) - federal law: specific rights when you are/believe you are victim of identity theft: • to have reporting agencies place “fraud alerts” in your file • ►alerts potential creditors, etc., know that you may be a victim of identity theft ►stays in file at least 90 days ►Extended Fraud Victim Alert in file for 7 years • to have free copies of info in your file ►initial Security Alert entitles you to copy of all info in your file from each credit agency ►Extended Fraud Victim Alert entitles you to 2 free file disclosures in 12-month period following alert • to obtain documents of fraudulent transactions made or accounts opened using your info ►creditor/business must give copies of applications & other business records relating to transactions and accounts that resulted from your identity theft • to obtain info from debt collector ►must provide certain info about debt you believe incurred in your name by identity theft • to ask that a consumer-reporting agency block that info from your file ►identify the info to block & provide agency with proof of your identity & copy of identity theft report • to prevent businesses reporting info to credit agencies if you believe info result of ID theft • ►identify, in writing, information you do not want & ID theft report
Too Many Credit Card Offers? • You can remove your name from the marketing lists of the three credit reporting bureaus: • Call • 888-5-OPTOUT ( 888-567-8688) • or • go online to www.optoutprescreen.com
Helpful Websites ……. • www.secretservice.gov • www.myfico.com • ww.annualcreditreport.com • www.optoutprescreen.comwww.donotcall.gov • www.idsafety.netwww.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html • www.fdic.gov/consumers/index.html • www.fraud.org • www.privacyrights.org/identity.htm • www.equifax.com • www.experian.com • www.transunion.com • www.quicken.com • www.bankrate.com • www.360financialliteracy.org