IDENTITY THEFT: Are You At Risk?
By George Anderson
As a victim of identity theft, I can tell you that this is one of the biggest nightmare situations that could ever happen. I truly wish this never happens to anyone of you. However, the reality is it just may. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), identity theft is the fastest growing white collar crime in the United States. In the state of Illinois, 11,137 people were victims of identity theft in 2005, up 15 percent since 2003. The FTC also stated that 43 percent of all fraud reported in the state of Illinois was identity theft.
What is Identity Theft?
Identity Theft occurs when someone uses your personal information without your permission to commit fraud. This is a broad definition because of the wide variety of identity theft crimes out there.
Types of Identity Theft
There are two major classifications of identity theft: financial and criminal.
Financial identity theft is the most common version. This involves criminals manipulating new or existing financial relationships. This type of fraud involves your credit card, debit card, true name identity fraud, check fraud, and more. These are terrible because they can ruin your credit, cost you money, and drain your time in the process.
Criminal identity theft involves someone masquerading as you and committing felony or misdemeanor crimes in your name. This could lead to more serious consequences for you as it could mean jail time, warrants issued for your arrest, and tarnishing of your name and reputation in the community and business environment. The sad thing is that all someone needs to know is your personal information and have the gall to make such an attempt.
Real Estate Professionals
There is a growing concern in the real estate community as identity theft begins to seep into this arena. Investors are constantly at risk as their personal information is on display via mortgage applications, contracts, deeds, and more, but the real estate professionals are on guard as well. Cases of appraisal identity theft are growing quickly. Fraudulent appraisals are being prepared and issued with inflated values using an unsuspecting appraisers name and certification number. In addition, real estate agents, home inspectors, and mortgage officers are feeling the pressure to maintain their privacy in an increasing world of mistrust.
A Lesson Learned
The most frustrating part of identity theft, in addition to the loss of time, capital, and drop in credit score, is the amount of effort and diligence it takes to clear your good name. In my situation, someone opened six cell phone accounts in my name, ran the bills up, and never paid. Luckily, these were some amateurs or they were really worried about being caught because the bills totaled less than $1,000. Obviously, I was furious when I found out. However, a quick survey of friends assured me that my case wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it was just a chance to learn a lesson about protecting personal information. A friend of mine had someone purchase a car in his name and left him with a $30,000 loan to pay.
Government Intervention
The government has been very active in fighting the identity theft craze as of late. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ) webpage, Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act in 1998. This law makes identity theft illegal and carries a maximum term of 15 years imprisonment, a fine, and criminal forfeiture of any personal property used or intended to be used to commit the offense.
In addition, the State of Illinois has taken some bold moves to fight this crime as well. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan created the nation’s first Identity Theft Hotline to help Illinoisans get their lives back after this crime. According to the website, the hotline provides Illinoisans who have been victimized by identity theft with one-on-one assistance to take the steps necessary to report the crime to local law enforcement and financial institutions, repair their credit, and prevent future problems. The hotline number is (866) 999-5630 or you can visit the website at www.ag.state.il.us/consumers/hotline.html.
“Identity theft victims are faced with an overwhelming recovery process that can consume 60 or more hours of their time,” Madigan said. “The new Identity Theft Hotline is intended to provide immediate counseling to help victims navigate a safe path to restored credit. The goal of this hotline is to provide direction, help and peace of mind.”
The bottom line is that the responsibility is yours to protect your personal information and passwords. Yes, the government can help with laws and hotlines, but you are the first and best line of defense against criminals that are just lurking and waiting for an opportunity. Identity theft is a colorless, classless crime that puts us all at risk. As they say in boxing, protect yourself at all times!
WHAT CAN WE DO TO PROTECT OURSELVES
The best way to fight identity theft is to prevent it. The Federal Trade Commission provided these suggestions for protecting yourself against identity theft:
1) Shred financial documents and paperwork with personal information
before you discard them.
2) Protect your Social Security number. Don’t carry your card with you
in your wallet and never write it on checks. In short, don’t give it out
where possible. Try to use alternative forms of identification.
3) Don’t give out personal information on the phone, through mail, or
over the Internet.
4) Never click on links sent in unsolicited emails; instead, type in a
web address you know. Use firewalls, anti-spyware, and anti-virus
software to protect your home computer; keep them up-to-date.
Visit OnGuardOnline.gov for more information.
5) Don’t use obvious passwords like your birth date, mother’s maiden
name, or the last four digits of your Social Security Number.
6) Keep you personal information in a secure place at home.
WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU ARE A VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT
Here are four mandatory steps you should take if you find out you are the victim of identity theft according to the Federal Trade Commission.
1) Place a “fraud alert” on your credit reports, and review your credit
reports. A “fraud alert” tells creditors to follow certain procedures
before they open new accounts in your name or make changes to
existing accounts.
2) Close the accounts that you know, or believe, have been tampered
with or opened fraudulently.
3) File a report with your local police or the police in the community
where the identity theft took place.
4) File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
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