What is identity theft

What you should know about Identity Theft

What is identity theft?
One of the fastest growing crimes in the United States, costing victims over $5 billion annually.

Identity theft occurs when someone else uses your personally identifying information without your knowledge or permission to obtain credit cards, get wireless or phone products and services, obtain loans and mortgages, get a job, and commit other types of fraudulent or even criminal acts, in your name, leaving you responsible for the consequences

How does it work?
The identity thief uses key pieces of your information such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers to obtain credit, merchandise and services in your name. An estimated 9.9 million consumers were victims of identity theft in 2003, and unfortunately, that number is growing.

Why should you know about it?
If your identity is stolen, you may spend months or even years clearing up the damage thieves have caused to your reputation and credit record. In the time it takes to resolve these issues, you may lose job opportunities and be refused loans for education, housing, or a car. Although you have not committed a crime, been late with a payment, or abused your credit, you are the one who would suffer severe financial consequences as a result of identity theft. If you are a student or recent graduate, being a victim of identity theft jeopardizes your financial future just as you are beginning to establish your credit record.

Is it a Crime?
Yes. Identity theft is a federal crime. The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 made it a federal crime when anyone “knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of the Federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable State or local law.”

How does it happen?
There are many ways that crooks get hold of your personal information:

• Steal wallets and purses containing your identification
• Steal your mail, including your bank and credit card statements
• Rummage through your trash to get your personal data
• Find personal information in your home
• Use personal information you share on the Internet
• Scam you, often by email, by posing as legitimate companies
• Steal files or bribe employees who have access to files with your information
• Obtain your credit report by posing as a landlord or employer
• Request a copy of your birth certificate from the county recorder’s office

How can you protect yourself from identity theft?
Be aware of how and when you use your personal information.
• Memorize your Social Security number and passwords. Don’t record your password on papers you carry with you.
• Don’t use your date of birth as your password.
• Shred pre-approved credit applications and other financial documents before discarding them.
• Order credit reports every year from each of the major credit reporting agencies and thoroughly review them for accuracy.
• Never give personal or financial information over the phone or Internet unless you initiated the contact.
• Don’t carry your Social Security card or birth certificate with you.
• Report lost or stolen credit cards immediately.
• Check your monthly credit card and bank statements for unusual activity.
• Use a firewall program on your computer, especially if you leave your computer connected to the Internet 24 hours a day.
• Do not download files sent to you by strangers or click on hyperlinks from people you don’t know.
Credit Card Alert!
• Pre-approved credit card offers probably flood your mailbox every week. Whatever you do, don’t simply throw away these offers; an identity thief can easily pick up a stray application and apply for the card in your name. You should shred these applications before you dispose of them. Credit card companies also entice students on campus with promotional items and free gifts. These offers are risky, providing an opening for identity theft. You should review your statements, and your bank and credit card statements, as soon as you receive them. Thieves can charge thousands of dollars to an account in a very short period of time. Your best protection is to pick up all your mail promptly. Leaving mail lying around your dorm or apartment provides another opportunity for your personal information to be taken and abused.

Social Security Numbers
You need to be particularly vigilant about safeguarding your Social Security Number. Your employer and bank will likely need your SSN for wage and tax reporting purposes. Other businesses may ask you for your SSN to do a credit check, A such as when you apply for a loan, rent an apartment, or sign up for utilities. Sometimes, however, they simply want your SSN for general record keeping. You don’t have to give a business your SSN just because someone asks for it. If someone asks for your SSN, ask the following questions:

• Why do you need my SSN?
• How will my SSN be used?
• What law requires me to give you my SSN?
• What will happen if I don’t give you my SSN?

What should you do if you become a victim of identity theft?
FIRST, contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus:
• Equifax: www.equifax.com
To order your report, call: 1-800-685-1111
or write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
To report fraud, call: 1-800-525-6285
and write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
• Experian: www.experian.com
To order your report, call: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
or write: P.O. Box 2104, Allen TX 75013
To report fraud, call: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
and write: P.O. Box 9532, Allen TX 75013
• TransUnion: www.transunion.com
To order your report, call: 800-916-8800
or write: P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022.
To report fraud, call: 1-800-680-7289
and write: Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

SECOND, close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

THIRD, file a police report with your local police or the police in the community where the theft took place.

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
• Allowing consumers to report credit fraud with one call.
• Requiring that fraud alerts be maintained on a consumer's files for no less than 90 days, unless the consumer requests they be removed sooner.
• Establishing an "extended fraud alert" that can last as long as seven years at the consumer's request. During the first five years of that period, credit-reporting firms must exclude the defrauded consumer from any list provided to third parties that offer credit or insurance, unless the victim asks to be included.
• Entitling consumers who have been victimized by credit fraud to two free copies of their credit report during the year the theft takes place .
• Requiring credit grantors such as credit-card companies and banks to verify the consumer's identity by calling the person or taking other "reasonable steps" before issuing new credit, if the consumer's file is flagged with a fraud alert.
• Blocking credit-reporting firms from distributing adverse credit information that resulted from a case of identity theft.

To report identity theft contact:
• U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General Hotline: e-mail oig.hotline@ed.gov, 1-800-MISUSED (1-800-647-8733) (student information or fed education $)
• Federal Trade Commission, 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338)
• Social Security Administration, 1-800-269-0271
• National White Collar Crime Center, http://www.nw3c.org

For more information, contact:

Rick Hicks, Esq.
Anderson, Gulotta & Hicks, P.C.
1110 N. Mountain Road
Harrisburg, PA 17112
(717) 541-1194
rhicks@fbstax.com