Identity Theft

Credit Freezes

Freezes are more effective than fraud alerts and prevents any company from accessing your credit unless you already do business with them - essentially closing off your records against any new creditor - Beware... Freezes can be a hassle when seeking a student loan or mortgage. Unfreezing your records may take up to 3 days and usually costs a small fine

Fraud Alerts

Include alerts of suspicious activity taking place with your account - Beware...The law only requires a creditor take reasonable precautions before extending credit, so a fraud alert may act as only a minor deterrent for an experience thief

Identity Theft

Occurs when someone uses your personally identifying information to commit fraud or other crimes, typically for economic gain. Ex. of personally identifying information: - Name, social security number, credit card number, checking account number, etc.

Credit Card Fraud

•Can open new credit card accounts in your name - Failure of identity thief to pay bills will appear on your credit report •Change the billing address on your credit card - Will no longer receive bills, increasing the time it will take you to realize there is a problem

Bank/Finance Fraud

•Counterfeit checks •Open bank account (write bad checks) •Cloning ATM/debit card •Use information to obtain loans

•Even if you take necessary precautions, paying for identity theft protection may help if you...

•Do a considerable amount of online banking •Do not have time, or will not be diligent, in monitoring your information on you own •Want to better ensure you will not have to invest time and money into recovering from an identity theft and restoring your credit and good name Bank, insurers and private firms all offer identity theft services - Many offer preventative and reactive tools to protect your identify •Fraud alerts •Credit freezes

•Government Documents Fraud

•Drivers license/ official ID with your name & their picture •Use SS# to get government benefits •File fraudulent tax return Other Fraud •Use SS# to get a job •Use name to rent a house •Get medical services •Give personal information to police during arrest...When they fail to show up for court date a warrant will be issued in your name

Common Ways Thieves Obtain Personal Information

•Dumpster diving - Rummaging through trash for bills, papers with personal information •Skimming - Involves using special storage device when processing your debit/credit card to steal debit/credit card number •Phishing - Thieves pretend to be financial institutions or companies & use spam/pop up messages to get you to reveal personal information •Mail theft - Diverts bills to another address by filling out a change of address form •Stealing - Stealing purses/wallets, bank statements, credit card statements, pre-approved credit card offers, tax information, personal records •Pretexting - Using false pretenses to obtain personal information from financial institutions, telephone companies, or other sources A majority of victims are unsure how their information was taken

Familiar Fraud

•Familiar Fraud is when a friend or family member uses your personal information for financial gain. •While most thieves do not know their victim, nearly 35% of identity theft crimes are perpetrated by someone close to the victim

•Employment Related Fraud

•In order to pass a background check or meet work requirements, a person may use your social SS#

Common Methods for Discovering Identity Theft

•Monitoring Accounts •Received bill •Company Notification •Credit Monitoring Service •Debt Collector •Reviewing Credit Reports •Applying for job/credit/benefits

Phone/Utilities Fraud

•Open new phone/wireless account in your name •Run up charges on existing account •Name can be used to obtain utilities such as electricity, heating, cable

Discovering Misuse Early

•There is a direct correlation between discovering identity theft early, and spending less time mitigating the damage. •40% of Identity theft victims discover misuse of information within one week of the start of the misuse

•Loan Fraud

•Your SS# and any banking information makes it very easy for someone to get a quick loan in your name •With Payday loans, people can obtain cash in your name with little verification

Top 5 Types of ID Theft

1. Credit Card Fraud (45%) 2. Miscellaneous Identity Theft 3. Mobile telephone 4. Business or personal loan 5. Auto loan or lease •While the number of consumers who experience identity theft has gone up, the average cost and hours it takes to resolve the issue has gone down. •Consumers are also getting better at preventing and catching fraud once it occurs •Different Type of frauds occur at very different rates, and some are on the decline (e.g. tax fraud)

Prevention

1. Guard yourself online - Clear your Login and Passwords - Change login/passwords on a regular basis - Use a credit card - not debit - when purchasing online - Federal law provides better guarantees for credit cards than online payment or your debit card 2. Be aware of Phishing - Often times spam or pop ups mimic legitimate bank or businesses, and asks you to provide your personal information, allowing access to your accounts - Make sure you're on a familiar and reputable web site before entering personal information 3. Monitor your bank and credit card statements - Check accounts regularly - This helps determine when something is wrong - Purchases you didn't make in locations you never were will alert you that someone is misusing your account - By law you are entitled to a free report every year from on of three bureaus-Equifax, Experian, and Transunion - This means you can, and should, order a report every 4 months (one from each bureau annually) - Reports can be ordered directly through each bureau 4. Verify your mailing address with the post office and financial institutions - prevents thieves from successfully filling out change of address forms and keeping you unaware of (paper) credit card bills 5. •Shred sensitive documents - bank statements, credit card applications, bill, and anything that might have sensitive personal information on it.

If you DO detect fraudulent activity

1. Notify the financial institution where the fraud has occurred •This will allow the institution to freeze your account 2. File a complaint •Depending on the situation you may need to file a complaint with the FTC and your local police department 3. Investigate all other accounts - Make sure the breach is isolated

Targeted Demographics

Young adults are the age group MOST likely to be victimized - Consumers ages 18-24 Reasons for high rate victimization - Young adults are least likely to take precautions to protect their identity...shredding papers, using antivirus software are firewalls - Young adults also frequently use unprotected wireless access points at hot spots (such as Starbucks) - Young adults provide an overwhelming amount of person information on social-networking sites Protect yourself early, and often - a ruined credit score and reputation is difficult obstacle to overcome - Change passwords frequently and make sure personal information is protected - Both paper and the information you put online