All Veterans Under ATTACK!-Don't be a victim of Identity theft...read on for your protection....!
MIRVman
your family. If you've read about your credit report
http://www.creditinstructor.com/read_your_credit_report_files/image004.jpg
and credit score,
http://images.lendingtree.com/stm3/images/credit_score_poll.gif and
want a refresher course, read on.... , then you know how to keep your
credit clean so you can enjoy the benefits of all of that hard work.
What happens, though, when you find out that someone has used your name
to get a credit card
http://www.corante.com/mooreslore/archives/images/credit%20cards.jpg
and has run up thousands of dollars in charges that you are now going
to have to convince the credit card company that you are not
responsible for?
What if they opened bank
http://www.realuguides.com/press/documents/covers/bank_account.jpg
accounts in your name, committed crimes using your name, or worse?!
Innocent people are being arrested because someone is committing crimes
using their names.
Can you prevent this from happening? Can you protect yourself from
these white collar criminals? What is law enforcement doing about it?
In this tretise, we'll look into the dark world of identity theft to
which we can all fall victim. We'll find out how others can get access
to your personal identification information, how you can protect
yourself, and what to do if you become a victim.
Identity Theft in the News
Rocky Mount Teen Charged With Identity Theft - 1/7/05
http://www.nbc17.com/news/4060613/detail.html
Maine man faces felony charges in identity theft - 1/6/05
http://www4.citizen.com/January2005/01.06.05/news/laconia_01.06.05a.asp
Elkridge man charged in scamming of NFL players - 1/6/05
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=573&NewsID=601374&CategoryID=742&show=localnews&om=1
Instant credit means instant identity theft - 1/5/05
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6762127/
Man sent to prison for identity theft - 1/5/05
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050105/NEWS/501050334/1003/NEWS02
Types of Identity Theft
Identity theft can enter into many areas of our lives. It involves any
instance where a person uses someone else's identification documents or
other identifiers in order to impersonate that person for whatever
reason.
According to a ( This takes 20 seconds to download, worth the wait !)
September 2003 survey conducted by the Federal Trade Commission,
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/09/synovatereport.pdf an estimated 10
million people in the United States found out they were victims of
identity theft in the previous year.
More appropriately titled identity fraud, your identity might be stolen
in order for someone to commit:
Financial fraud - This type of identity theft includes bank fraud,
credit card fraud, computer and telecommunications fraud, social
program fraud, tax refund fraud, mail fraud, and several more. In fact,
a total of 25 types of financial identity fraud are investigated by the
United States Secret Service. http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/index.shtml
While financial identity theft is the most prevalent (of the
approximate 10,000 financial crime arrests that Secret Service agents
made in 1997, 94 percent involved identity theft), it certainly isn't
the only type. Other types of identity theft, however, usually involve
a financial element as well -- typically to fund some sort of criminal
enterprise.
Criminal activities - This type of identity fraud involves taking on
someone else's identity in order to commit a crime, enter a country,
get special permits, hide one's own identity, or commit acts of
terrorism. These criminal activities can include:
Computer and cyber crimes
Organized crime
Drug trafficking
Alien smuggling
Money laundering
Stealing Your Identity
Have you ever eaten at a restaurant, paid with a credit card,
http://www.zug.com/daily/journal/graphics/012105_cc_pc.jpg and
forgotten to get your copy of the credit card receipt?
Did you know that many of these receipts have your credit card number
printed right there for anyone to see (and use)?
And, if you've signed them, your signature is also right there for
someone to carefully copy.
This can lead to the most simple form of identity theft. With this bit
of information, some unscrupulous person can be well on his way to
making purchases either by phone
http://www.mobilegpsonline.com/images/GPSTrack.JPG or on the Internet
using your credit card number. You won't know about it until you get
your statement (a good reason why you should always study the charges
on your credit card statements!).
All they have to have, in most cases, is your mailing address, which
can be looked up in a phone book or easily found on the Internet.
Credit card fraud is identity theft in its most simple and common form.
It can be accomplished either through a scenario like the one we just
mentioned, or it can happen when your pre-approved credit card offers
fall into the wrong hands.
All a person has to do is get these out of your mailbox (or trash can)
and mail them in with a change of address request and start spending.
Someone can even apply for a credit card in your name if they have the
right information. You won't know a thing about it until the credit
card company tracks you down and demands payment for the purchases
"you" have a racked up.
With a person's name, social security number
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Q._Public and date of birth, someone
can get loans, access the person's existing bank accounts, open new
bank accounts, lease or buy cars, get insurance, you name it.
Think about the things you throw in the trash. Do you throw your pay
stubs away once you've recorded the amount in your checkbook?
Take a look at some of the information on that seemingly unimportant
piece of paper:
Your full name
Your address
Your social security number
Your complete bank account number (if you have direct deposit)
Your employer and its address
Your rate of pay
Now, think about the types of information you have to provide in order
to get a credit card or a loan or lease a car.
There is very little additional information that is needed in order to
get that loan. I recently got a home equity loan and did all but the
final signing of the documents over the phone, and faxed
http://gallery.mudpuddle.co.nz/albums/hoagies/fax_machine_001.jpg all
of my financial information directly to the loan officer.
It would not have been that difficult to "create" those documents using
someone else's social security number, bank account numbers and other
personal information. That's a scary thought!
Imagine finding out that someone had gotten a mortgage in your name.
Clearing that up with the bank and getting it off of your credit
history would be quite a battle.
You are left with the time-consuming task of repairing your credit and
getting your finances back on track.
Accessing Your Personal Information
Your personal information can be found in many places. It can be:
Dug out of trash cans and dumpsters, known as "dumpster diving"
Memorized or copied by sales clerks and waiters
Removed from your mailbox in the form of tax
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ci.shreveport.la.us/dept/finance/Revenue/TAXFORM.png&imgrefurl=http://www.ci.shreveport.la.us/dept/finance/newprptx.htm&h=828&w=636&sz=327&tbnid=JSS0yCD1fsvM0M:&tbnh=143&tbnw=109&hl=en&start=6&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtax%2Bnotice%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26rls%3DSUNA,SUNA:2006-08,SUNA:en%26sa%3DN
notices, financial account statements and other bills before you have a
chance to get them or even know they are there
Removed from your employer's files, either secretly or with the help of
an inside accomplice
Removed from your hospital records, usually with the help of an inside
accomplice
Removed from your financial lender's files
Removed from your landlord's files
Purchased (or found free) in online (or offline) databases
Collected from "cloned" Web sites (Someone may recreate a legitimate
merchant Web site in order capture your personal information and credit
card information when you place an order.)
Stolen from a merchant database through computer hacking (This is not
as simple as other forms of theft.)
Stolen through hacking into commercial Web sites or your ( This is an
interesting History ) personal computer
http://www.blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml and using software to mirror
keystrokes to capture credit card account information
Collected from "cloned" chat rooms that include links to outside Web
sites that offer services or products (None of these are real
merchants; your information is simply gathered so the criminals can
make purchases elsewhere.)
Basically, anywhere you've provided that information can be a target.
Often, employees who have access to the information are bribed or
offered a cut of the profits in exchange for personal information about
other employees.
The more sophisticated the perpetrator, the more money is stolen and
the more people scammed. Clerks can even put skimmers on the credit
card machines that will record credit card information for later use.
Temporary employees seem to be more frequently involved in identity
theft scandals than permanent employees, simply because fewer
background checks are done on them.
Public information
What about all of the publicly available information someone can access
about you? Sources for this information include:
Public records - These records that are open for public inspection
include driver's license information, real estate records, business
records, vehicle information, certain types of professional
certifications and licensing information, and any other types of data
collected by public entities.
Information that is publicly available - This means non-government
information that is found in newspapers,
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/state.html#lnews such as classified
advertisements and reports, as well as phone book entries.
Open-source information - This refers to information about you that may
be found in periodicals and on Web sites.
While some information about your life is pretty well protected, such
as medical, financial and academic records, your other identifying
information (social security number, home address, etc) is not so
protected.
One scary statistic: According to the Federal Trade Commission
http://www.ftc.gov/ (FTC), in 2000, 19 percent (as opposed to 13
percent in 2001) of all victims of identity theft who completed that
section of the FTC complaint form had a personal relationship with the
thief; 10 percent of those thieves were family members.
How To Protect Yourself
Protecting yourself from identity theft takes proactive effort. You
can't simply assume it's not going to happen to you and go on about
your life -- it can happen to anyone. It even happens to celebrities.
Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Robert De Niro and Martha Stewart have all
had their identities stolen.
While you can't ever totally protect yourself from these thieves, you
can at least make yourself less attractive as a victim by doing what
you can to make it more difficult for them to access your information.
Here are some things you can do to protect yourself:
DON'T give out your Social Security number unless it is absolutely
necessary. Many companies collect more information than they really
need. Make sure that it's something they have to have and make sure
they'll protect your privacy.
DESTROY any unwanted credit card offers. This means rip, shred, burn,
whatever you can do. These pre-approved offers come almost daily. If
you don't want the three major credit bureaus to sell your name to
these companies, you can "opt out" by either writing to the three major
credit bureaus or by calling (888) 5OPTOUT (567-8688).
This will remove your name, for two years, from mailing and
telemarketing lists that come from TransUnion, Equifax, Experian, and
INNOVIS. You can also write to the Direct Marketing Association's mail
preference service http://www.dmaconsumers.org/offmailinglist.html to
have your name removed from some mailing lists.
DON'T put any other information besides your name and address on your
checks, and keep a close watch on your checkbook both when you're
writing checks and when it is lying around. Someone can memorize your
name, address and phone number during the short time it takes you to
write a check.
SHRED (cross-cut) any sensitive documents before you throw them into
the trash. This may seem like an extreme measure, but dumpster diving
happens all the time and turns up a lot more personal information than
you may realize.
DON'T carry your Social Security card, passport,
http://www.wvec.k12.in.us/kes/brochure/passport.gif or birth
certificate in your wallet or purse. Also, only carry as many credit
cards as are absolutely necessary. It has also been suggested that you
photocopy
http://www.oup.co.uk/images/oxed/children/yoes/light/photocopier.jpg
everything you carry in your wallet to make canceling things easier in
the event that your wallet is stolen.
REVIEW your credit report
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp every year to make
sure there haven't been any new credit cards or other accounts issued
(to someone other than you) and to make sure there haven't been
inquiries by people you haven't initiated business with. There are also
services you can subscribe to (such as CreditExpert
https://www.creditexpert.com/creditexpert/creditmanager/012_0_cm_home.jsp
) that will alert you to any changes in your credit file.
NEVER give out personal information on the phone to someone you don't
know and who initiated the call. Often, scam artists phone unsuspecting
victims pretending to be their financial services company and request
information to be provided over the phone. Usually, the story is to
"update records" or sell a product. Get their name, phone number and
address, and then call them back at the number you have on file or that
is printed on the statements you receive.
REVIEW your monthly credit card statement each month to make sure there
aren't any charges showing up that aren't yours. Also, make sure you
get a monthly statement. If the statement is late, contact the credit
card company. You never know when someone may have turned in a
change-of-address form so they could make a few more weeks of purchases
on your credit card without you noticing.
DON'T mail bills or documents that contain personal data (like tax
forms or checks) from your personal mail box. Take them directly to the
post office or an official postal service mailbox. It's too easy for
someone to take mail out of your mailbox on the street. From there,
they can dip your checks in special chemicals to remove the ink and
then rewrite them to themselves!
If you're ever denied credit, FIND OUT WHY, especially if you haven't
reviewed your credit report lately. This may be the first indication
you get that someone has stolen your identity and is racking up charges
in your name.
REACT QUICKLY if a creditor or merchant calls you about charges you
didn't make. This too may be the first notice you get that someone has
stolen your identity. Get as much information from them as you can and
investigate immediately.
GUARD deposit slips as closely as you do checks. Not only do they have
your name, address and account number printed on them, but they can
also be used to withdraw money from your account. All a thief has to do
is write a bad check, deposit it into your account and use the "less
cash received" line to withdraw your money.
Identity Theft Insurance?
Some insurance companies offer identity theft insurance. While these
policies don't cover everything, they certainly help out by covering a
portion of lost wages for time spent dealing with the theft, mailing
and other costs associated with filing paperwork to correct the
problem, loan re-application fees, phone charges and even some attorney
fees.
These steps can help lessen your chances of becoming a victim of
identity fraud, but nothing is a sure thing. The thing to remember is
that documents you throw away often have all the information a thief
needs to steal your identity and wreak havoc on your life.
Internet Transactions
The ease of shopping and comparing products and prices online has made
it an attractive option for many shoppers. How can you make sure your
transactions are safe and your credit card information going only where
you intend it to?
There are several ways to help ensure safe transactions on the
Internet, and more are becoming possible all the time. Some of these
include:
Stored-value cards (cards that you can buy with specified, loaded
dollar amounts)
Smart cards
http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-12-1997/jw-12-javadev.html
(cards that can act as credit cards, debit cards and/or stored-value
cards)
Point-of-sale (POS) devices (like your PDA
http://www.pdabuzz.com/ or mobile phone
http://www.nokiausa.com/index/1,7905,,00.html?ref=http://www.nokia.com
)
Digital cash http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/digital_cash.html
E-wallets
http://searchebusiness.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci213335,00.html
Online payment services like PayPal http://www.paypal.com
The most prevalent method for paying for the things you purchase online
is still the credit card.
The following list provides some tips on how to make sure your
transaction is secure. For a more extensive explanation of encryption
and Internet security, check out How Encryption Works.
http://www.learnthenet.com/english/animate/encrypt.html Use the latest
Internet browser.
The program that you use to surf the Internet is called a browser. This
software has built-in encryption capabilities that scramble the
information you send to a server.
http://www.ciol.com/content/flavour/servertech/101071001.asp Using the
most recent browser ensures that the data is protected using the latest
encryption technology.
This technology also uses a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which is an
Internet security protocol used by Internet browsers and Web servers to
transmit sensitive information. The server receiving the data uses
special "keys" to decode it.
You can make sure you are on an SSL by checking the URL -- the http at
the beginning of the address should have changed to https. Also, you
should notice a small lock icon in the status bar at the bottom of your
browser window.
Look for digital certificates that authenticate the entity you are
dealing with. Independent services like VeriSign
http://www.verisign.com will authenticate the identity of the Web site
you are visiting.
Web sites that use this service (usually those that sell items or
services online) will have the VeriSign logo.
By clicking on the logo, you can be assured that the site is
legitimate, rather than a clone of the legitimate company set up to
collect your personal and financial information.
Read the privacy policy. The information you enter on the Web site
should be kept confidential. Make sure you read the company's privacy
policy to ensure that your personal information won't be sold to
others.
Services like Trust-E http://www.truste.com review a company's privacy
policy (for a fee) and then allow the company to post the Trust-E logo
if its privacy policy follows certain industry standards for consumer
protection.
Only use one credit card for all of your online purchases.
Never give out passwords or user ID information online unless you
know who you are dealing with and why they need it.
Don't give it out to your Internet service provider if you get an
e-mail http://online.nmit.vic.edu.au/Koori/email2.htm requesting it.
This is a relatively recent scam used to access your account and get
your credit card number, along with whatever other personal information
is there.
Keep records of all of your Internet transactions. Watch your credit
card statement for the charges and make sure they're accurate.
After you've made purchases online, check your e-mail. Merchants often
send confirmation e-mails or other communications about your order.
If It Happens To You
What if you find out through a phone call from a creditor, a review of
your credit report, or even a visit from the police, that your identity
has been stolen.
The first thing to do is report the crime to the police and get a copy
of your police report or case number. Most credit card companies,
banks, http://www.msmoney.com/mm/banking/bkbasics/how_work.htm and
others may ask you for it in order to make sure a crime has actually
occurred.
You should then immediately contact your credit card issuers, close
your existing accounts and get replacement cards with new account
numbers.
Make sure you request that the old account reflect that it was "closed
at consumer's request" for credit report purposes.
It is also smart to follow up your telephone conversation with letters
to the credit card companies that summarize your request in writing.
Close any accounts the thief has opened in your name. If you open new
accounts yourself, make sure you request that passwords be put on those
accounts.
As with any password, make sure you use something that is not obvious
to others. Don't use your mother's maiden name, the last four digits of
your social security number, or anything else that would be obvious.
Next, call the fraud units of the three credit reporting bureaus and
report the theft of your credit cards and/or numbers.
Ask that your accounts be flagged with a "fraud alert." This usually
means that someone can't set up a new account in your name without the
creditor calling you at a phone number you specify.
Verify with the credit bureau representative you speak with that this
will happen, and provide them with the number at which you want to be
reached.
The down side of this is that you won't be able to get "instant credit"
at department stores. This flag, also known as a "victim's
statement," is the best way to prevent unauthorized accounts
The Credit Bureaus
Equifax Credit Information Services - Consumer Fraud Div.
P.O. Box 105496
Atlanta, Georgia 30348-5496
Tel: (800) 997-2493
www.equifax.com
Experian
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, Texas 75013-2104
Tel: (888) EXPERIAN (397-3742)
www.experian.com
TransUnion Fraud Victim Assistance Dept.
P.O. Box 390
Springfield, PA 19064-0390
Tel: (800) 680-7289
www.transunion.com
Make sure to keep a log of all conversations with authorities and
financial entities, and keep copies of any documentation you provide to
them.
If your social security number has been used, notify the Social
Security Administration's Office of Inspector General
http://www.ssa.gov/oig/hotline/index.htm .
File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by contacting
the FTC's Consumer Response Center http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm
.
The FTC is the federal clearinghouse for complaints by victims of
identity theft. The FTC does not have the authority to bring criminal
cases, but it does assist victims by providing information to help them
resolve the financial and other problems that can result from identity
theft.
The FTC also may refer victim complaints to other appropriate
government agencies and private organizations for further action.
The FTC also has an online identity theft compliant form that can help
them gather information about identity theft and lead to law
enforcement actions. The form can be found here.
https://rn.ftc.gov/dod/widtpubl$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU03
Reporting to the FTC
Consumer Response Center
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20580
Toll-free 877-FTC-HELP (382-4357)
On the Web: www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm
For consumer information: www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm
What Congress Is Doing About It
Congress declared identity theft a federal crime in 1998 when it passed
the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/itada/itadact.htm
This offense, in most circumstances, carries a maximum term of 15 years
imprisonment, a fine, and criminal forfeiture of any personal property
used or intended to be used to commit the offense.
Identity fraud schemes may also involve violations of other statutes,
such as identification fraud, credit card fraud, computer fraud, mail
fraud, wire fraud, or financial institution fraud.
Each of these federal offenses are felonies that carry substantial
penalties - in some cases, up to 30 years imprisonment, fines and
criminal forfeiture.
Federal prosecutors work with federal investigative agencies such as
the Federal Bureau of Investigation http://www.fbi.gov/homepage.htm ,
the United States Secret Service
http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/index.shtml and the United States Postal
Inspection Service http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/ to prosecute
identity theft and fraud cases.
According to the Secret Service, its investigations show a jump in
potential losses due to identity theft, from $851 million in 1998 to
$1.4 billion in 2000.
While some of this increase may be due to an increase in investigations
of the crime, the most likely reason is the advancement of the Internet
and technology in general.
Part of the problem is the fact that the United States has no formal,
centralized identification system. The most widely used ID card is the
drivers' license, which has often been issued without good verification
of the person's identity.
The social security number that is used for verifying identity and
setting up so many different types of accounts, loans and other
financial necessities can be found, bought or stolen more easily than
ever.
It's found on many insurance cards, employment records, student ID
cards, pay stubs and, of course, financial account records. The bottom
line is: Protect your social security number at all costs. Don't give
it out unless you have to, and don't carry the card with you.
Most states have recently improved the identification requirements for
people seeking drivers' licenses.
Rather that being able to bring someone in to vouch for your identity,
more concrete pieces of identification are required, and then there are
still some states that only issue a temporary license until your
documents have gone through their fraud unit.
What the Future Holds
Future efforts for preventing identity theft will most likely come
through technological advancements that incorporate some physical
aspect of a person's body in order to verify identity.
Known as biometrics, this type of authentication uses individually
unique physical attributes such as fingerprints,
http://biometricsecurity.privaris.com/?gclid=CJuHmd7JloQCFSRmUAodHRJ2vQ
iris/retina, facial structure,
http://www.automa.com.au/images/faceplusdots.jpg speech, facial
thermograms, hand geometry and written signature.
It can be used to authenticate both your identity and the party you are
dealing with. For more information on biometrics, visit the Michigan
State University Biometrics Research Homepage
http://biometrics.cse.msu.edu/ .
Additional research is being done with digital signatures
http://www.abanet.org/scitech/ec/isc/dsg-tutorial.html These include
include public and private key encryption, as well as a third party
verification of authenticity, such as with Public Key Infrastructure
(PKI) http://csrc.nist.gov/pki/
The MIRVman :)