|
 |
 |
| Police: Beware of identity theft |
|
| Ildefonso Ortiz/The Brownsville Herald |
|
10/26/2008 - Brownsville police are urging residents to be extremely vigilant with their personal information and belongings.
According to recent figures, police have handled close to 900 cases of identity theft or credit card abuse since January.
"This type of crime is on the rise. It's the crime of the day," Lt. Orlando Rodriguez said. "It is easier for someone to steal your personal and credit information rather than physically steal from you."
Rodriguez said identity theft relates to any use of information on a third party for personal gain. Some of the uses include requesting loans or opening accounts, selling or renting Social Security numbers to people who don't qualify for one, as well as using credit card numbers to make fraudulent purchases.
Rodriguez said the police department regularly receives calls from other law enforcement agencies requesting help in tracking down fraudulent users. Figures released by police place those calls at 10 to 12 per week.
Police spokesman Sgt. Jimmy Manrrique said the department sometimes receives false calls about credit card abuse.
"Sometimes, people max out their credit card and then they call us claiming that it was stolen and they didn't use it," Manrrique said.
Chief Deputy Gus Reyna of the Cameron County Sheriff's Department said his agency does not receive many identity theft calls.
"This is a crime we don't see too much of," Reyna said.
Rodriguez said that contrary to popular belief, a person is more likely to get their information stolen through local means than over the Internet.
"The Internet is very safe, everything is encrypted," Rodriguez said. "They should worry more about trash divers and leaving their mail too long in the mailbox."
The lieutenant urged residents to be proactive in avoiding identity-related crimes.
"They need to be careful with any documents that contain their personal information," Rodriguez said. "Don't just throw away credit card offers, someone could very easily fill it out and get a credit card under your name. Be sure they are shredded."
Rodriguez also warns people to regularly check paper and online statements for their credit and bank accounts to detect any unknown charges.
"This actually happened to me," he said. "A while back my ATM card showed charges to a restaurant in Austin."
Police also advise people to not carry their Social Security cards or birth certificates but to leave them safely stored at home.
|
|
|
|
