Identity Theft...
"Name, Rank and
Serial Number"
By James Williams
Identity theft is
the fastest growing
crime in the U.S.
The U.S. Secret
Service has
estimated that
consumers nationwide
lose $745 million to
identity theft each
year.
According to the
Identity Theft
Resource Center, the
average victim
spends 607 hours and
averages $1,000 just
to clear their
credit records.
Identity thieves
employ a variety of
methods to gain
access to your
personal
information. They
may get information
from businesses or
other institutions
by stealing it; by
bribing an employee
who has access to
records; hacking
into records; or
conning information
out of employees.
Once identity
thieves have your
personal
information, they
may use it to commit
a fraud or theft in
your name.
How can you tell if
you have become a
victim of identity
theft? Some
signs include
unexplained charges
or withdrawals from
your financial
accounts; bills or
other mail stop
arriving (the thief
may have submitted a
change of address);
a credit application
is denied for no
apparent reason, or
debt collectors
begin calling about
merchandise or
services you didn’t
buy.
Your computer can be
a goldmine of
personal information
to an identity
thief. To protect
yourself and your
computer against
identity theft
consider:
·
Updating virus
protection software
frequently.
Consider setting
your virus
protection software
to update
automatically. The
Windows XP operating
system also can be
set to check for
patches
automatically and
download them to
your computer.
·
Not opening files
sent to you by
strangers, clicking
on hyperlinks, or
downloading programs
from people or
companies you don’t
know.
·
Using a firewall
program, especially
if you use a high
speed Internet
connection like
cable or DSL that
leaves your computer
connected to the
Internet 24 hours a
day.
·
Providing your
personal or
financial
information through
an organization’s
secured website
only. While
not fool proof, a
lock icon on the
browser’s status bar
or a URL for a
website that begins
“https:” (the “s”
stands for secure),
may provide
additional security.
·
Not storing your
financial
information on your
laptop, unless
absolutely
necessary.
·
Deleting all the
personal information
stored on a computer
before disposing of
it. A wipe” utility
program to overwrite
the entire hard
drive is
recommended.
·
Checking with an
anti-fraud education
organization such as
CardCops (www.cardcops.com).
Card Cops runs a web
site designed to
help consumers
determine whether
their credit card
numbers may have
been stolen. They
monitor Internet
"chat rooms" where
identity thieves
illicitly trade and
sell stolen credit
card numbers.
CardCops turns the
information over to
law enforcement
authorities, but
also allows
consumers to access
their database to
see whether
individual card
numbers may have
been stolen. In
the first two months
of operation, the
site identified more
than 100,000 stolen
credit cards.
As with any crime,
you can not
completely control
whether you will
become a victim, but
you can take steps
to minimize your
risk by remaining
diligent and by
minimizing outside
access to your
personal
information.
