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$ MONEY BUZZ: Identity Theft – slap on a chill for only $10 |
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Written by J.R. ROSSKAMP, M.B.A.
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 Broward County residents have another worry: neighbor Miami ranks third among the ten worst U.S. cities for ID theft. Nationwide, 10+ million Americans suffer identity usurpation each year, costing businesses and consumers $54 billion.
ID theft enjoys hot spots, but respects no borders. Pirates worldwide are co-opting American data every four seconds. The records of merchants and government agencies are being plundered, too. Only the largest security breaches now catch our attention, such as the 2005 hacker invasion of CardSystems Solutions, a major payment processor, compromising the data of 40 million cardholders.
By what means can your ID be stolen? What can you do?
Here are five examples:
1. Dumpster Diving—your trash is goldmined.
Action: Shred mail, data and computer discs into confetti, not just vertical strips.
2. Skimming—your credit/debit card numbers are stolen at purchase by hand-held swiping devices and later resold.
Action: Check statements carefully.
3. Phishing—your personal info is gained (“fished”) through pop-up Internet offers or spam.
Action: Don’t reveal personal info by phone, mail, online, or in surveys; know with whom you’re dealing.
4. Address changes—your bills are diverted by a “change of address” form filled out on your behalf.
Action: Know when monthly statements will arrive; cancel the credit of deceased individuals.
5. Theft—your wallet, handbag or mail is stolen, or your records are accessed at work, a medical facility, through vendors, or in a donated computer.
Action: Be wary in public; review all statements, investigate any credit denials. Use a locked mailbox. Erase computer hard drives.
Think: deterrence, detection and defense. Not only can ID pillage ruin your credit, it can jail you. Some 12 percent of ID theft victims find themselves proving to police and courts that they are not, in fact, the criminals who have assumed their identities. So ubiquitous is ID theft, that even those in prison are victimized by it.
Social Security Numbers
Become stingy with your Social Security (“SS”) number. Don’t carry your card in your wallet, or write your number on a check. Substitute other ID for it, if asked. Few need your SS#: your employer, the IRS, the motor vehicle department, your banker or stockbroker.
At Home
Secure personal info at home—from roommates, visitors and workmen.
Your Wallet
Photocopy what you carry in your wallet. Know how to quickly report stolen or lost cards. Carry few cards.
Computers
Maintain computer diligence, and instruct children to do so. Never click on links sent in unsolicited emails. Use anti-spyware, firewalls, and anti-virus software. Don’t use passwords that are obvious, such as your mother’s maiden name. Have a professional delete the hard drive of a computer before donation, even if you’ve used eraser programs. Learn how to detect if you are being pharmed or phished. Pharming is a sophisticated form of phishing in which a user is fooled into entering sensitive data such as a password or credit card number into a malicious website that impersonates a legitimate website, according to pharming.org. See OnGuardOnline.gov for tips on avoiding Internet fraud and cyber crime.
Secondary Credit Cards
Grant additional credit cards cautiously. Sadly, ID “theft” is often family or friends “misusing” credit. You, as the contracting cardholder, are responsible for charges to your account, until you report and prove theft. While you may be responsible only for the first $50 a stranger charges, you may be fully liable for charges made by those known to you. Safeguard your credit reputation—love has nothing to do with it.
Checks
Stymie check-washing fraud. Some $815 million is stolen each year by thieves who use chemicals to erase and rewrite numbers on checks. Use ink that bonds with paper, as in Uni-ball gel pens (manufactured by Newell Rubbermaid). Write fewer checks.
Public Places
Be alert in public places. It’s not rumor: Spies with cameras and camera phones photograph purchasers in stores, at airports, and while using ATM machines.
The Big Chill
Finally, adopt “da bomb,” a security freeze available to consumers in 30 states and Washington, D.C. Florida’s freeze law, effective July 1, 2006, is free to ID theft victims and to those over 65 years of age.
A freeze allows a consumer to prevent a credit report or credit score from being shared, and prohibits anyone from opening a new account—unless the freeze is unlocked.
When a consumer places the freeze, he or she receives a PIN number that can be used to thaw or lift the freeze for a particular period of time to a designated party. Even if your personal data is known, a new account cannot be opened in your name by another party.
How can you place a freeze? Send letters, via certified mail, to the three main credit reporting agencies (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian). In Florida, there is a $10 fee to place a freeze, to lift it temporarily, or to cancel it.
Log on to http://www.consum-ersunion.org/campaigns//learn_more/003484indiv.html. (Yes, this site works, remember to type an underscore__ after “learn.”) Placing a freeze will not harm your credit score.
The Three Credit Agencies
Use agencies to help assure you will not be held liable for financial fraud against you. Place a “fraud alert” on your credit reports, using toll-free numbers:
Equifax:
1-800-525-6285 • www.equifax.com
Experian:
1-888-397-3742 • www.experian.com
TransUnion:
1-800-680-7289•www.transunion.com
The Federal Trade Commission
File police reports when ID theft occurs. Contact the Federal Trade Commission by phone at 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338), or online at ftc.gov/idtheft. Help agencies track crime by alerting them to patterns.
Free Annual Credit Report
Check your credit reports. The Federal Reserve found that some 70 percent of consumer credit records contained errors. The Fair Credit Report Act now requires all three credit bureaus to provide you one free credit report every year. Go to annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228.
Fraud Insurance?
Do you need “fraud protection” insurance? Consumer Reports and other experts concur that this is a waste of money, since companies offer after-the-fact detection, not deterrence, nor corrective help. You are the best first-line defense of your identity and credit profile. Take charge.
Paranoia about ID theft is warranted: having one’s identity stolen is stressful, violative of privacy, and takes an average of 330 hours to remedy. Worse, every consumer pays for ID theft in the form of higher consumer prices, bank fees and insurance. Do your part to prevent the scourge of ID theft.
Be Ready to Act
Save this Broward Times column.
J.R. Rosskamp is an investor, entrepreneur, and managing director of Veritas Partners, Inc., a business consulting firm. She can be reached at
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