| Who's Got Your
Number? BY LIZ GOFF
Picture this. While surfing the Internet,
you come across an offer by a national lending institution for a major credit card at a
rockbottom interest rate. It’s an offer that’s too good to pass up, so you
follow the instructions, complete the application and wait.
Experts agree that it’s always best to be cautious
when sharing personal information, especially over the internet.
Tribune Photo By Ira Cohen |
A mere 30 minutes later
you’re "approved." Your credit information has been processed and approved.
And it has very likely been pirated by computer bandits dubbed "Identity
Thieves."
The 1990s spawned a new generation of
crooks whose stock in trade are your everyday transactions.
In the course of any day, you may write a
check at the supermarket, rent a car, mail your tax returns, apply for a credit card, make
personal calls on your cell phone, order new checks, or charge tickets to a ballgame.
Each of these transactions require that you
share personal information: your bank and credit card numbers, Social Security number,
your income – and your name, address and phone number. And while you’re sharing
information through legitimate transactions, an identity thief may be looking over your
shoulder, stealing your personal information – and identity.
Think it can’t happen to you? Think
again, experts say, because despite your best efforts to manage your personal information
to keep it confidential, identity thieves are always one step ahead of you. They use a
variety of methods to gain access to your personal information, including:
• Stealing wallets and purses
containing your identification and credit and bank cards.
• Stealing your mail, including your
bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, telephone calling cards and
tax information.
• Completing a "change of address
form" to divert your mail to another location.
• Rummaging through your trash, or the
trash of businesses, for personal data in a practice known as "dumpster diving."
• Fraudulently obtain your credit
report by posing as a landlord, employer or someone else who may have a legitimate need
for – and a legal right to – the information.
• Getting your business or personal
records at work.
• Finding personal information in your
home.
• Using personal information you share
on the Internet.
• Buying your personal information
from "inside" sources. For example, an identity thief may pay a store employee
for information about you that appears on an application for goods, services or credit.
Likewise, the bandits employ a variety of
fraudulent tactics as they use your information and ruin your reputation.
They call your credit card issuer and,
pretending to be you, ask to change the mailing address on your credit card account. The
impostor then runs up charges on your account. Because your bills are being sent to the
new address, it may take some time before you realize there’s a problem.
They open a new credit card account, using
your name, date of birth and SSN. When they use the credit card and don’t pay the
bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report.
They establish phone or wireless service in
your name.
They open a bank account in your name and
write bad checks on that account.
They file for bankruptcy under your name to
avoid paying debts they’ve incurred under your name or to avoid eviction.
They counterfeit checks or debit cards and
drain your bank account.
They buy cars by taking out auto loans in
your name.
How can you minimize the
risk you take by using credit cards, etc.?
Experts suggest that you follow a
"pattern of protection," employing the following measures:
• Before you reveal any personally
identifying information, find out how it will be used and whether it will be shared with
others. Ask if you have a choice about the use of your information: can you choose to have
it kept confidential?
• Pay attention to your billing
cycles. Follow up with creditors if your bills don’t arrive on time. A missing credit
card bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your credit card account and changed
your billing address to cover his tracks.
• Guard your mail from theft. Deposit
outgoing mail in post office collection boxes or at your local post office. Promptly
remove mail from your mailbox after it has been delivered.
• Put passwords on your credit card,
bank and phone accounts. Avoid using easily available information like your mother’s
maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your SSN or your phone number, or a
series of consecutive numbers.
Have you ever wondered what
becomes of personal information you give to credit card providers, banks, department
stores, etc.?
Don’t think for a moment that the
information you provide always stays with the creditor you gave it to.
True, experts say, some lending
institutions and marketers try to keep a lid on personal information provided by
customers. But just as often that data is used to create a "profile" of you and
your financial situation. In many cases, it is shared with other "lenders" who
then solicit or harass you by mail, experts say.
How can you use the law to protect your
personal information?
Experts say there are a number of agencies
and private companies that advise on ways for you to "opt out" of sharing your
information – knowingly or unknowingly – with lenders. Consider the following:
• If you receive pre-screened credit
card offers in the mail (namely those based upon your credit data), but don’t tear
them up after you decide you don’t want to accept the offer, identity thieves may
retrieve the offers for their own use without your knowledge.
• Minimize the identification
information and the number of cards you carry to what you’ll actually need.
• Do not give out personal information
on the phone, through the mail or over the Internet unless you have initiated the contact
or know who you’re dealing with. Identity thieves may pose as representatives of
banks, Internet service providers and even government agencies to get you to reveal your
SSN, mother’s maiden name, financial account numbers and other identifying
information. Legitimate organizations with whom you do business have the information they
need and will not ask for it.
• Keep items with personal information
in a safe place. To thwart an identity thief, who may pick through your trash to capture
your personal information, tear or shred your charge receipts, copies of credit
applications, insurance forms, bank checks and statements that you are discarding, expired
charge cards and credit offers you get in the mail.
To opt out of receiving pre-screened credit
card offers, call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688). The three major credit bureaus use the
same toll-free number to let consumers choose not to receive pre-screened credit offers.
It’s no secret that
despite your best efforts, you may fall victim to identity thieves.
If you realize that your information has
been hijacked, contact local police immediately, as well as the Economic Fraud Unit at
your local district attorney’s office.
Contact the fraud department of each of the
three major credit bureaus. Tell them that you’re an identity theft victim. Request
that a "fraud alert" be placed in your file, as well as a victim’s
statement asking that creditors call you before opening any new accounts or changing your
existing accounts. This can help prevent an identity thief from opening additional
accounts in your name.
At the same time, ask the credit bureaus
for copies of your credit reports. Make sure no additional fraudulent accounts have been
opened in your name or unauthorized charges made to your existing accounts. Also, check
the section of your report that lists "inquiries." Where "inquiries"
appear from the company that opened the fraudulent account, request that these
"inquiries" be removed from your report. In a few months, order new copies of
your reports to verify your corrections and changes, and to make sure no new fraudulent
activity has occurred.
Immediately close accounts that have been
tampered with and open new ones with new PINs (personal identification numbers) and
passwords. Here again, avoid using easily available information like your mother’s
maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your SSN or your phone number, or a
series of consecutive numbers.
If you’ve been a victim of identity
theft, file a complaint with the FTC by contacting the FTC’s Identity Theft Hotline
by telephone: toll-free 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338); TDD: 202-326-2502; by mail: Identity
Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC
20580; or online: www.consumer.gov/idtheft |
