March
1, 2008
Prevent Identity Theft by Being Proactive
By
Alandale Insurance Agency
The prevalence and cost of identity theft appears to be growing.
This insidious crime can have far-ranging and long-lasting
consequences for its victims. Being aware of ways in which your
identity can be stolen, and taking steps to prevent this event from
happening, can save you time, money and grief.
A 2002 General Accounting Office report noted that precise
figures concerning the incidence of identity theft are difficult to
obtain due to the many forms this crime takes and the absence of any
one single database or reporting hotline that tracks its occurrence.
Furthermore, advancing technologies can result in new, evolving
manifestations of the crime. According to the
Identity
Theft
Resource
Center
, a national nonprofit organization, "rarely a week goes by
without a report of a new or different way to steal and use
identities."
That said, the GAO report states that key data sources all seem
to show that the incidence of identity theft is on the rise:
- Consumer reporting agencies
have seen an increase in the number of seven-year fraud alerts.
These alerts act as a warning that someone may be trying to use
a consumer's personal information in order to fraudulently
obtain credit. According to the GAO, one of these agencies
reported a 36% increase in the number of seven-year alerts over
a two-year period ending in 2000, while another reported a 53%
increase over the 12-month period ending in mid-2000.
- The Federal Trade Commission's
(FTC's) Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse, established in late
1999, averaged 445 calls per week during its first month of
operation. By March 2001, the number of weekly calls averaged
more than 2,000, and by December 2001, they averaged 3,000.
- The Social Security
Administration/Office of the Inspector General estimated a
five-time increase in the number of allegations of Social
Security number misuse from 1998 to 2001, with 81% of these
allegations related directly to identity theft.
According to the FTC's Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse, the
most common types of identity theft involve using or opening a
credit card account fraudulently; opening telephone/cell phone or
utility accounts fraudulently; passing bad checks or opening a new
bank account; getting loans in another person's name; and working in
another person's name.
The fact that identity theft has become a marquee issue
concurrent with rapidly advancing computer technologies can make it
seem like identity theft is primarily a technology-based crime.
However, many common forms of identity theft don't rely on
technology at all. An identity thief can steal your wallet or rifle
through your trash or recycling to find credit card or bank account
statements. Or the thief can look over your shoulder while you're
taking cash out of an automatic teller machine or inputting a
long-distance calling card number. Certainly, this crime does have
countless technology-based means, including email solicitations that
require "verification" of your personal data in order to
claim a prize award; fake Web sites that resemble the sites of
legitimate organizations and that require a credit card number to
make a purchase or donation; and software and other devices that can
scan, record or pirate your personal information without your
knowledge.
Here are a few of the many steps you can take to prevent
identity theft from happening to you:
- Safeguard your Social Security
number. Do not write or imprint it on your checks or carry it in
your wallet. When asked for it, question the reasons, and see
whether another form of identification can be used instead.
- Protect your mail, trash and
recycling. Mail slots in doors and boxes that require a key are
safer than a mailbox that any passerby can open. Shred documents
that contain any personal information or that are for a credit
extension or insurance offer. If you don't want pre-approved
offers at all, you can be removed from the pre-approved offers
lists provided by the major credit reporting companies through
this Web site, https://www.optoutprescreen.com.
- Don't respond to email or
telephone inquiries for personal information if you have not
initiated the call.
- Password protect access to
your work computer if you use it for any purposes that require
you to input any personal information. Do the same with home
computers, if anyone besides you and trusted family members
might have access to them.
- Be shrewd in creating
passwords and personal identification numbers (PINs)—don't use
name/number combinations that a thief (or a thief that knows
you) might be able to figure out.
- Review credit card and bank
account statements for activity you did not initiate. Review
your credit report regularly with major credit reporting
agencies (www.equifax.com; www.experian.com; www.transunion.com).
- Keep your computer updated
with current versions of anti-virus and anti-spyware software
and firewall protection.
Below is a good website and resource for
fighting back against Identity Theft
[CLICK
HERE]
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