IDENTITY THEFT

Idenity Theft How to protect yourself and what to do if victimized.

Many of the offenders committing identity theft and forgery are drug abusers. In order to finance their addiction these offenders are stealing mail, dumpster diving behind businesses and breaking into cars, homes and businesses looking for any documents or articles that may contain this information. Your personal information is then being used to apply for credit cards, retail credit or to counterfeit checks with your account number.

It is important to protect your information at all times and ensure that any business that obtains your information in the course of doing business is questioned by you as to how they are going to protect or destroy that information once they have finished with it.

If you find that you have been victimized, refer to the information supplied on this site. Follow the steps outlined and keep a personal file on each incident to aid in clearing up your credit.

Identity Theft

If someone has used your personal identifying information, such as your social security number, date of birth and name, to open lines of credit or to obtain services, you will first need to contact all 3 major credit reporting bureaus to place a "Fraud Alert" on your credit report. When you call the following toll-free numbers, this will notify businesses that you may be the victim of fraud. Request a copy of your credit report to review. Contact the following bureaus:

• Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
• Experian: 1 888 397 3742
• Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

Fraudulent Checks

If your stolen/lost checks are being used by someone forging your signature, you need to first contact your bank to close your account. You will also need to complete an Affidavit of Forgery at your bank for any forged check that has cleared. In many cases, the forged checks will be handled primarily by your bank. Your bank will credit your account once you complete the Affidavit of Forgery. They will send a copy of your Affidavit, along with the original check, back to the business that accepted the check. It is now the responsibility of that business to file the police report since they lost either cash or merchandise.

If you still desire a report for Identity Theft call Crime Stop at 602-262-6151.

If you are a merchant that has received a forged check that was returned to you from the bank, the Police Department requires that you are able to present the original check, with the Affidavit of Forgery completed by the account holder, as well as the employee who completed the transaction with the suspect.

Credit Card Fraud

If only the credit card number has been compromised and you still have possession of the plastic card, immediately notify your bank or credit card issuer to cancel the card. You will also need to complete a dispute form for any unauthorized charges. The credit card company may issue you a "temporary credit" and send a "charge-back" to the business that accepted the card number, without seeing the physical card. The business, who now suffers the loss, will need to complete the police report, if they so desire.

Computer and Telephonic &lquot;Phishing&rquot; Schemes

Phishing is a scheme where criminals attempt to identify a legitimate email address by sending a familiar looking computer generated email message. Phishing can take place at the worksite, home or anywhere a computer user has access to email. Phishing emails provide the recipient with a website link. If the link is ‘clicked’, the unaware user is sent to a fraudulent website. At the fraudulent website, the request for personal information such as a social security number, personal account numbers, or passwords may look legitimate. These schemes can also occur via the telephone. The caller may even have some level of information regarding you personally which was obtained through other means, which they will use to entice you into believing the call is legitimate.

Never provide an unsolicited email or phone caller with any personal information especially if the request comes from a bank where you do business, a credit card institution for a credit card you carry, or other financial type site that you may do business with. These institutions will never make this type of request unless you have initiated the call. If you are unsure of the request, initiate contact with your financial institution at a later time.

Preventative Measures

Your greatest asset for securing your good name is understanding where the thieves get your information. Here are a few of the many ways thieves can obtain your personal identifying information:

1. Coming into possession of your lost or stolen wallet or purse.
2. Stealing your mail, or diverting it to another mailbox via a change of address request.
3. "Dumpster Diving" into your trash and gathering important documents.
4. "Pretext" calls where the thief poses as your bank, internet service provider, or other organization with which you may or may not have had financial dealing and they call you to "verify your account information" because of a problem they had with their "records system."
5. Other crimes such as burglary or breaking into a vehicle where the thief looks to steal financial information, wallets, purses, or other items containing such information.
6. Internet transactions on unsecured sites or with illegitimate companies posing as a reputable "safe" business with which you may do business.

Knowing how the thieves get the information, it is now clear how best to protect that information: you should begin immediately to practice these simple steps:

1. Protect your Social Security number, credit card numbers, account passwords and other personal information.

   Use common sense, and be suspicious when things don't seem right. Never divulge your information over the phone unless you initiated the phone call. If personal information is requested ask questions. It is your right to know why it's needed, how it will be used, and who needs it.

   If you get an unsolicited offer that sounds too good to be true it probably is! If a caller claims to represent your financial institution, the police department or some similar organization and asks you to "verify" (reveal) confidential information, hang up fast and consider reporting the incident. Real bankers and government investigators don't make these kinds of calls.

2. Minimize the damage in case your wallet gets lost or stolen.

   Don't carry around more checks, credit cards or other bank items than you really need. Limit the number of credit cards you carry by canceling the ones you don't use. Don't carry your Social Security number in your wallet or have it pre-printed on your checks. Pick passwords and Personal Identification (PIN) numbers that will be tough for someone else to figure out-don't use your birth date or home address, for example. Don't keep this information on or near your checkbook, ATM card or debit cards. Also, don't leave your wallet unattended in a store, restaurant, office or other public place even for a few minutes.

3. Protect your incoming and outgoing mail.

   Promptly remove mail from your mailbox after it has been delivered. If you're going on vacation have your mail held at your local post office or ask someone you know and trust to collect your mail. Deposit outgoing mail in the Postal Service's blue collection boxes, hand it directly to a mail carrier or take it to a local post office.

4. Keep thieves from turning your trash into their cash.

   "Dumpster divers" pick through trash looking for pre-approved credit card applications and receipts, canceled checks, bank statements, expired charge cards and other documents or information they can use to counterfeit or order new checks or credit cards. To keep these from happening use a "cross-cut" shredder and shred any document that contains any part of or all of your personal information. "Cross-cut" shredding makes confetti out of the documents and makes it virtually impossible for the thief to paste them back together.

5. Practice home security.

   Safely store extra checks, credit cards, or other financial documents. Consider using a document safe for these items. Don't advertise to burglars that you're away from home. Use timers on your lights and temporarily stop delivery of your newspaper and mail or ask a trusted neighbor to pick up any items that may arrive unexpectedly at your home.

6. Pay attention to your bank account statements and credit card bills

   ALWAYS check into discrepancies in your records or if you notice something suspicious, such as a missing payment or an unauthorized withdrawal. Also, contact the appropriate institution if a bank statement or credit card bill doesn't arrive on time because that could be a sign someone has stolen account information and changed your mailing address in order to run up big bills in your name from another location.

7. Review your credit report approximately once a year.

   Monitor your credit report for accuracy, looking for unauthorized bank accounts, credit cards, purchases, etc. Look for anything suspicious in the section of your credit report that lists who has received a copy of your credit history. This may be an indication a thief is trying to obtain fraudulent benefits, or is merely casing you as a viable victim.

   To order your report, call the three major credit bureaus at these toll-free numbers: Equifax at (800) 685-1111, Experian at (888) 397-3742, or Trans Union at (800) 888-4213. By law, the most you can be charged for a copy of your report is $8.50. To be safe, consider getting a copy from each of the three companies.

8. Practice "on-line" or internet safety.

   Be suspicious of web offers that "seem to good to be true." Ensure the web site you are using is legitimate, or has been formally examined and certified secure and reliable by a legitimate certifying agency such as the Better Business Bureau or the like.

   Use your credit card and social security number only when absolutely necessary. Only use websites who you believe are using secure communication links that are encrypted (scrambled). Again, keep your PIN numbers and passwords confidential, and DON'T write them down and leave them next to, on or near your computer. (prevention information paraphrased from the FDIC Consumer News - Summer 2000)