FUN FACTS ABOUT IDENTITY THEFT
Once a month I go to the Chamber O Commerce lucheon for free food and free office supplies/junk. Fortunately, they bring in guest speakers who talk about various things that I always happen to find fascinating (like how to spot counterfeit bills). This month was no exception. The chamber invited the district prosecuting attorney and she was way cool. She was campaigning (along with the police force) to raise identity theft awareness. Up to that point, I had merely considered IT to be something credit card companies could make funny commercials about. But it turns out to be a bit more serious. Here are some things you should know.
-Identity Theft(IT) is the fastest growing crime of the 21st century. The Federal Trade Commission released a report in September of 2004 saying that IT affects over 10 million new victims annually. Loses to individuals are estimated at 5 billion in 2003.
-IT crosses all social, economical, racial and gender barriers. This means a suspect might be a total stranger, a close friend, or even a relative.
-It is impossible to completely prevent identity theft.
some tips:
-Don't have your SS number printed on your checks or driver's license or other I.D.
-Review your SSN benefits statements once a year to check for fraud.
-Get rid of unused credit cards. Don't just destroy them, but cancel them (the actually card isn't needed for IT).
-Cross-shred pre-approved credit applications, credit card receipts, bills and other financial documents. (The attorney stated..."You have to cross shred, because these people don't have jobs. They'll sit there all day and tape your little strips of paper back together. Once they do that, they've got you.")
-Order your FREE credit report once a year from the three credit reporting companies. Check the report for inaccuracies and fraudulent use of accounts. Equifax (800)997-2439, Experian (888)397-3742, and TransUnion (800)916-8800. Having 3 free means you can get a report once every 4 months.
-Stop getting preapproved credit card apps - (888)567-8688.
-Reduce other unwanted junk mail - write to Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008.
-use *67 when you dial and put a caller ID block on your cell phone.
-Don't give personal info over cordless or cellular phones. Currently police scanners and baby monitors can easily pick up cell phone conversations.
-use random numbers for pin numbers on credit/debit cards and such.
-If you are a victim (which one out of all the people who read this probably is) be sure to get a police report no matter what. You'll need it to proceed in any IT case.
-Many people are victims and don't know it. Many people who are victims don't find out till years after they first became a victim.
Scary, I know.
