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| Guest commentary: Stop identity theft before it starts
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| JEFF LANZA |
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10/20/2008 - Security experts recommend shredding all credit-card offers and any trash that contains more personal information than just your address.
I am in the mood for a shopping spree.
I have a few new credit cards that I feel like maxing out. I’ll buy electronics, clothes, furniture, maybe a few gift cards. Cost is no object, since I am not paying the bills. Why would I?
They happen to be in your name, which is something you may not discover until weeks or months later, after records of the unpaid debt have seeped onto your credit report, ruining your credit and your good name. Welcome to the world of identity theft. You have just become a victim.
Sadly, this scenario or ones like it occur at least 3,000 times a day in this country, and it costs credit-card companies and financial institution billions each year.
That cost is ultimately borne by consumers as it is reflected in the costs we pay for goods and services. For the specific victim, the real problem is the time and effort needed to clean up the mess the thief made of your credit.
This is a problem that causes people concern, especially those who may be in or nearing their retirement years. A recent survey conducted by AARP reports that 78 percent of people 50 years of age and older were concerned about being the victim of identity theft.
It is safe to say that in retirement, most people want to simplify their life. Being the victim of identity theft could complicate a person’s retirement years, as victims may spend so much time resolving the matter they might feel as if they are working again.
Identity theft occurs when someone becomes you. The crime, in most cases, is motivated by financial gain, but perpetrators also use false identities to get a job, get health care or commit a different crime.
For any of that to happen, the crook first needs to know your personal information. Your name, home address, and birth date provide a good start and are readily available in many easily searchable public databases. Your Social Security number — which is a more difficult identifier to steal and is also the key to unlocking your credit — is so important to an identity thief that you must go out of your way to protect it.
How do thieves learn enough about you to become you? It runs the gamut from old-fashioned theft to high-tech hacking.
They might steal your wallet or purse. They might snatch your mail. They might invade your trash. They might watch or listen for your personal information while you’re shopping or on your cell phone. On your computer, they may steal your key-strokes or ask you for personal information in scam e-mails.
Thieves also target organizations that have your personal information, including banks, schools, employers, doctors, merchants, utilities and brokerages, to name a few. And don’t forget about government agencies. How do they get it? They might bribe an employee, steal it, hack into it or stumble upon it on an unprotected laptop stolen from a house or a car.
We’re all vulnerable to identity theft — that’s the bad news. The good news is that you can protect yourself. Here’s how:
•Your documents: Don’t carry your Social Security number on any documents in your purse or wallet; change your driver’s license or any other documents to different numbers.
Don’t let mail accumulate in your box for extended periods. Investigate any statements that you haven’t received on time, as a crook may have stolen one and changed the address. Use a crosscut or diamond-cut shredder to shred all credit-card offers and any trash that contains more personal information then just your address. Be careful what you say about yourself when others might be listening — especially when you’re on your cell phone as we tend to talk louder and clearer, which is perfect for someone eavesdropping for personal information.
Security experts recommend shredding all credit-card offers and any trash that contains more personal information than just your address.
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