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Avoiding identity theft is a 3D project
Penny Rathbun/Staff photo
Prosper Bank vice president and compliance officer Jerrica Anderson holds up a pamphlet available at Prosper Bank when she spoke to the Preston Trails Rotary chapter in Celina in June about how consumers can protect themselves from identity theft.
By Penny Rathbun
prathbun@starlocalnews.com
Computers have made life easier for nearly everyone, especially thieves.
Computers provide fertile ground for identity thieves to benefit enormously with very little effort.
Deter, detect and defend can minimize the risk of identity theft.
“One way to avoid identity theft,” Jones said, “is don’t buy stuff on the internet. If it’s convenient for you it’s convenient for the thief.”
One way to protect against identity theft is to pay attention to the universe around you. Most people know about standard precautions of keeping address and Social Security number secret, but may not know about the use of skimmers.
A skimmer can be stuck over the card slot on a gas pump or even an ATM. The device skims information from a credit or debit card. The thief picks it up after a day or so and has a treasure trove of credit card and bank account numbers. Jones said take a close look at wherever you are planning to stick your credit or debit card. If it does not look right do not use it. A skimmer can come unstuck fairly easily if you find one. Jones said if you find one turn it in to the police and let the business owner know you found it.
There are a few simple precautions that can be taken with credit cards. There are numbers on the signature line. Make the last three digits illegible. That number is known as the CVV number. Keep that number in a safe place at home.
Do not sign your name on the signature line of a credit card. Instead, write the words “Show ID.” That way a sales person will have to ask you for identification to prove you are the card owner.
Don’t carry all of your cards with you and especially do not carry your Social Security card. Carry only the cards you are going to use.
“If your credit card leaves your hand the chances of your information being stolen increases,” Jones said.
Always keep your Social Security number and other identifying information secret, including things like your mother’s maiden name and pet names. Do not use them or pet names for passwords. A password should contain numbers and both lower and upper case letters. Always question why someone is asking for your Social Security number and how it will be used.
Your employer and financial institutions will need your Social Security number for wage and tax reporting purposes.
Be careful how you dispose of your trash or recycling bins. Always shred charge receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, physician statements, checks and bank statements, expired charge cards that are being discarded and credit card offers received in the mail. This goes a long way to prevent thieves from capturing personal information by going through your trash.
Detect any suspicious activity with bank accounts and credit cards by closely looking at the monthly statement. If there are charges for goods or services your did not incur report them to the bank or credit card company.
Request your credit report. Once a year consumers can request a free credit report from the three credit companies. If you find fraudulent or inaccurate information get it removed.
Defend yourself by taking action immediately if you become a victim of identity theft. Place a fraud alert on your credit reports and review your credit reports.
Close accounts that you know or suspect have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Speak with someone in the security or fraud department of each company.
When you open new accounts use new Personal Identification Numbers and passwords. Avoid using identifying information such as mother’s maiden name, birth dates, phone number or last four digits of your Social Security number or a series of consecutive numbers.
“Bad folks are good at what they do,” Prosper Bank vice president and compliance officer Jerrica Anderson said.
Credit and debit card fraud costs the banking industry thousands upon thousands of dollars every year she added.
Along with your Social Security card, keep your birth date secret as well.
Another precaution is to get a secure mailbox that can only be opened with a key.
“Even with taking all these precautions,” Jones said, “it is not a matter of whether you will become a victim, but when.”
To learn more about how to protect yourself from identity theft, Jones recommends watching the 2002 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, “Catch Me if You Can.”
Here is how to get your free annual credit report.
Visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free 877-322-8228 or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, Georgia 30348-5281.
The three consumer reporting companies may charge for a copy of your credit report for more than one copy a year. Their contact information is
Equifax: 800-685-1111, www.equifax.com
Experian 888-397-3742, www.experian.com
TransUnion 800-916-8800, www.transunion.com
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