Identity Theft How to Protect Your Name (24 page)

Rose’s experience—and his persistence in getting to
the bottom of his problem—is a lesson to all: You
must become a savvy, aggressive consumer and
take matters into your own hands. While it’s important to get your identity mess cleared up, it’s also
important and useful to get an explanation as to
when, where and how the fraud occurred.

Jill Maggio’s experience is yet another example of what fighting back can do. One day, a man entered her San Jose cellular shop and asked for four phones for his business. He showed Maggio his company Web site and, after clearing his credit check, he paid the $719 bill with a company check.

But the company wasn’t his…and the check was counterfeit. Maggio didn’t simply pick up the phone and notify police or cancel the man’s Nextel’s service, however. Instead, she got crafty and had the man’s
voicemail service rerouted
to her. She recorded his messages and sometimes spoke with his callers. When she had enough ammo (i.e., people the police could actually contact), she turned it all over to the San Jose
231

H O W T O S U R V I V E Y O U R S T O L E N I D

police. After 20 years in the business, Maggio wasn’t about to let her first counterfeit scam go unpunished.

Authorities eventually arrested the man responsible, Julian Antonio Torres of San Mateo. He was part of a Bay Area crime ring that stole mail from posh homes in San Francisco, Woodside and elsewhere, then used the credit cards and bank accounts to buy luxury hotel rooms, fancy sports cars, motorcycles, laptops and other electronic gadgets.

S O F T W A R E F O R V I C T I M S

Alongside the growing ID theft problem is an expanding market for products that help consumers manage the clean-up process. Identity Restoration, Inc., for example, has introduced a software program— IDentity SecurityNet—that helps victims repair their damaged names and prevent future damage.

Such programs can walk you through the process of
clearing your name and credit by organizing and
tracking vital information.

User-friendly computer programs that guide you through the difficult process of completing letters and forms, providing a complete report for law enforcement, and taking measures to prevent theft can
help
remove some of the frustration
out of damage control. Particularly useful of these programs is their ability to link you to the places you need to go: the Social Security Administration, law enforcement agencies, credit card companies, credit reporting agencies,
232

C H A P T E R 1 0

banks and financial institutions…and various government agencies. Further, you can access Web sites that answer questions about privacy and personal security.

A note about services and programs: There’s nothing wrong with paying someone to help you navigate the clean-up process once your identity has been stolen.

But
know what your limits are
for shoveling money out for expensive programs, access to 24-hour ID

theft hotlines and credit watches. The great majority of ID theft prevention and management (i.e., clean-up) is free. For example, it doesn’t cost money to notify the credit card companies and Social Security Administration of your theft…but you could pay someone to help you do that.

Cleaning up the leftover mess from an ID theft will
cost you in time, energy, postage (for the letters
you send) and perhaps the help of an attorney in
dire situations (e.g., you’ve been arrested falsely
and need to get out of jail). What you decide to
spend on extra help getting back on track is up to
you.

Keeping alert
is one of the most important things to do post-theft. The problems often don’t end with phone calls and follow-up letters—particularly if the thief is still at large and still using your identity. For some, paying for a service or program that keeps you tuned in to the ongoing problem is worth the money.

233

H O W T O S U R V I V E Y O U R S T O L E N I D

C O N C L U S I O N

Besides the frustration you must endure once your identity has been stolen and abused, there’s a lot to be said about the other emotions that accompany the crime: anger,
embarrassment and disbelief
. You cannot keep the issue a secret or think that it will take care of itself in a short time. Identity theft often affects the people around you, too—your friends, your family and even your business colleagues.

Falling victim to any crime is life-changing. It’s not an experience anyone should go through alone. Talk to your family, friends and business contacts about your problem and what you are doing to fix it. It might make you feel better knowing there are people to support you. They will most likely want to help in some way, which they can do by simply watching out for you and
keeping your head up
.

When someone runs off with your ID, don’t sit and ponder where you went wrong or where you goofed and let a thief walk into your shoes. Focus, instead, on the problem. Once you make those initial phone calls to the Feds, police, credit agencies and bureaus, call your friends and family to let them know. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. As this book has shown,
ID thieves don’t discriminate
. They fool stupid people as well as sharp people; they can dupe a young, old, rich or poor person. ID theft can happen to any-body.

In the next and final chapter, you’ll find a checklist of things to do before, during and after someone has stolen your identity. These are good checklists to have when you need a quick refresher course on this complex and deepening problem.

234

C H A P T E R 1 1

11

CONTACTS

The following chapter is a
collection of checklists
to refer to when dealing with identity theft. Some of this information was adapted from the FTC’s Web site at www.ftc.gov, which is a great source of information, links and advice. The site contains sample dispute letters and an affidavit you should fill out when you suspect someone has illegally used your ID. Remember: Identity theft often involves crimes committed across state lines and requires multi-jurisdictional cooperation. You’ll have to contact many places in the clean-up process.

V I C T I M ’ S O V E R A L L G O A L S

•

Close fraudulent accounts; •

Clear yourself of responsibility for any debts or other criminal activities the thief has perpetrated in your name; •

Ensure that your credit report is correct; and

•

Find out as much information about the suspect as you can so you can share that information with the police and the FTC.

2 3 5

C H E C K L I S T S & C O N T A C T S

O R G A N I Z A T I O N

Start with phone calls, but follow each and every call with a letter in writing. Use certified mail, return receipt requested.

•

Keep
copies of all correspondence
or forms you send. Send copies, keep originals.

•

Log every phone call with names, numbers, details of the conversation, what you were told, and the date of the conversation. Consider
setting up a folder
on your computer to handle the logging of information. You can use a spread-sheet or a word processor—unless you have already purchased a program that simplifies the process—to organize the information in a quickly retrievable manner.

•

Set up a
filing system
for easy access to your paperwork.

•

Keep old files
even if you think your case is closed. Although most cases once resolved, stay resolved, in some cases, problems can crop up again. Should this happen, you’ll be glad you kept your files.

I M M E D I A T E C A L L S T O M A K E

•

Call the toll-free fraud number of any one of the three major credit bureaus to
place a fraud alert
on your credit re-2 3 6

C H A P T E R 1 1

port. This can help prevent an identity thief from opening additional accounts in your name.

•

When you receive your reports, review them carefully to make sure no fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name or unauthorized changes made to your existing accounts.

•

Contact the creditors
(for example, credit card companies, phone companies and other utilities and banks and other lenders) to close any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Ask to speak with someone in the security or fraud department of each creditor. It’s particularly important to notify credit card companies
in writing
.

•

File a report with your local police. Get a
copy of the police report
in case the creditors, credit bureaus or others need proof of the crime.

•

File a complaint with the FTC.

C O M P U T E R P R O T E C T I O N S

The World Wide Web opens many doors, both for you to the outside world, and for others looking to come into your home via your home computer. As much as a personal tool the Web can be, it can also be a key for others to use to access your personal information. Take action to help
safeguard your personal
computer
from myriad things: damage or misap-2 3 7

C H E C K L I S T S & C O N T A C T S

propriation of your software and data; viruses; ob-jectionable content; intruders contacting your children,
etc.
There’s a lot to protect when it comes to your computer and several things you can do to minimize unwelcome consequences to your privacy and computer security. Because a lot of ID theft is perpetu-ated by computers and the Internet, securing your computer is key. To
assess your risks
, ask yourself: •

What is your computer used for?

•

Who has
access to your computer
?

•

What kind of Internet connection service do you have? (cable? DSL?) •

How often is your computer online as opposed to offline?

•

What sort of
security features
do you have on your computer? Firewall? Content advisor settings? Anti-viral software?

•

What kind of sites are your users visiting when on the Web?

•

What kinds of transactions are taking place on your home computer?

•

What are your
children
doing on the Internet? Do they have unsupervised access?

2 3 8

C H A P T E R 1 1

W H E N M A K I N G O N L I N E P U R C H A S E S

•

Check
seals of approval
links to verify merchants’ authenticity (e.g., TrustE, BBBOnline, BizRate, etc.); •

Call companies on the phone to judge their legitimacy; •

Read privacy policies
; •

Verify electronic security protocols; •

Know what a merchant will do with your personal information; •

Know how to tell when a transactions gets encrypted (i.e., before you enter a credit card or personal information, look for “https” instead of “http” in the address bar and for the lock icon at the bottom of your browser; and •

Check you monthly statements for transactions that don’t look familiar.

T H E R E D F L A G S

Mail
: Your mailbox—filled with incoming or outgoing mail—is an easy target. Watch out for missing bills or bank statements. Check washing is another method; a thief can wash out the ink on a signed check, change the amount and rewrite the check to himself. Watch out for those pre-approved credit cards that come in the mail, too.

2 3 9

C H E C K L I S T S & C O N T A C T S

Fraudulent change of address
: A thief can fill out a change-of-address form at the post office or with the victim’s credit card company so the mail and bills get redirected to the thief’s address or mail drop.

Trash cans and dumpsters
: Business and building dumpsters are attractive items to thieves looking for discarded letters with business and customer account information. A thief can disguise himself as a homeless person digging through garbage.

Onlookers
: Whenever you expose your ATM or calling card in a public place, someone might be looking.

They might even look from afar with the help of binoculars, camcorders or a zooming camera.

Lost or stolen purse or wallet
: This is when keeping certain things like your Social Security card and health insurance card (which often bears your SSN) out of your purse is key.

Inside jobs
: An employee of a business might illegally retrieve information that a business has collected for legitimate reasons. An entry-level employee at a financial institution, for example, might be able to access others’ personal information, and sell it to identity thieves.

Internet
: Personal Web pages are targets, and genealogical databases give thieves access to maiden names, which are often used as passwords to bank accounts and the like.

Skimmers
: Thieves who carry skimmers, devices that can read the magnetized strip from a credit card, bank card for account numbers, balances, verification codes,
2 4 0

C H A P T E R 1 1

are hard to spot because they often work where you’re using your card to make purchases. These thieves obtain temporary work within restaurants, hotels and retail stores where they capture and retain the information from the card you hand over when making a purchase.

Pretexting
: You might be duped into giving up your personal information over the phone with someone who disguises himself as a representative with a reliable company that you use, like your phone company, local department store or cable company.

S I M P L E P R E V E N T I V E M E A S U R E S

•

Ask your employer
to dispose of sensitive, personal information and to secure anything that cannot be destroyed.