Identity Theft How to Protect Your Name (26 page)

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21235; or e-mail: [email protected].

•

You also can call SSA at (800) 772-1213

to verify the accuracy of the earnings reported on your SSN, and to request a copy of your Social Security Statement or to get a replacement SSN card if yours is lost or stolen. Follow up in writing.

•

For more information, visit their Web site at
www.ssa.gov/pubs/idtheft.htm.

A T M F R A U D

The
Electronic Fund Transfer Act
provides consumer protections for transactions involving an ATM

or debit card or other electronic way to debit or credit an account. It also limits your liability for unauthorized electronic fund transfers. Other tips include: •

Report lost or stolen ATM and debit cards immediately because the amount you can be held responsible for depends on how quickly you report the loss.

2 5 2

C H A P T E R 1 1

•

If you report your ATM card lost or stolen within two business days of discovering the loss or theft, your losses are limited to $50.

•

If you report your ATM card lost or stolen after two business days, but within 60 days after a statement showing an unauthorized electronic fund transfer, you can be liable for up to $500 of what a thief withdraws.

•

If you wait
more than 60 days
, you could lose all the money that was taken from your account after the end of the 60 days and before you report your card missing.

•

The best way to protect yourself in the event of an error or fraudulent transaction is to call the financial institution and follow up in writing by certified letter, return receipt requested.

After receiving notification about an error on your statement, the institution generally has
10 business
days
to investigate. The financial institution must tell you the results of its investigation within three business days after completing the investigation and must correct an error within one business day after determining that the error has occurred. If the institution needs more time, it may take up to 45 days to complete the investigation—but only if the money in dispute is returned to your account and you are notified promptly of the credit. At the end of the investigation, if no error has been found, the institution may take the money back if it sends you a written explanation.

2 5 3

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

•

VISA and MasterCard have voluntarily agreed to
limit consumers’ liability
for unauthorized use of their debit cards in most instances to $50 per card, no matter how much time has elapsed since the discovery of the loss or theft of the card.

C R I M I N A L V I O L A T I O N S

If you are accused wrongfully of a crime, contact the arresting or citing law enforcement agency (i.e., the police or sheriff’s department that originally arrested the person using your identity, or the court agency that issued the warrant for the arrest).

•

File an
impersonation report
to confirm your identity. The police department may take a full set of your fingerprints and your photograph, and make copies of any photo identification documents like your driver’s license, passport or visa.

They should compare the prints and photographs with those of the imposter to establish your innocence.

•

If the arrest warrant is from a state or county other than where you live, ask your local police department to send the impersonation report to the police department in the jurisdiction where the arrest warrant, traffic citation or criminal conviction originated.

2 5 4

C H A P T E R 1 1

The law enforcement agency should then recall any warrants and issue a
“clearance letter”
or certificate of release (if you were arrested/booked). Keep this document with you at all times in case you’re wrongly arrested. Also, ask the law enforcement agency to file, with the district attorney’s (D.A.) office and/or court where the crime took place, the record of the follow-up investigation establishing your innocence. This will result in an amended complaint being issued. Once your name is recorded in a criminal database, it’s unlikely that it will be completely removed from the official record. Ask that the “key name,” or
“primary
name,”
be changed from your name to the imposter’s name (or to “John Doe” if the imposter’s true identity is not known), with your name noted only as an alias. Other things to do: •

To clear your name in the court records, you’ll need to determine which state law(s) will help you do this and how. If your state has no formal procedure for clearing your record, contact the D.A.’s office in the county where the case was originally prosecuted. Ask the D.A.’s office for the appropriate court records needed to clear your name.

•

Finally,
contact your state DMV
to find out if your driver’s license is being used by someone else. Ask that your files be flagged for possible fraud.

•

If you think your name or SSN is being used by an identity thief to get a driver’s license or a non-driver’s ID, contact your DMV. If your state uses your SSN as your driver’s license number, ask to substitute another number.

2 5 5

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

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

G O V E R N M E N T

National Conference of State Legislatures:
www.ncsl.org
Alabama Attorney General:
www.ago.state.al.us
Alaska Attorney General:
www.law.state.ak.us
Arizona Attorney General:
www.attorneygeneral.state.az.us
Phoenix Police Department:
www.ci.phoenix.az.us/POLICE/idthef1.html
Arkansas Attorney General:
www.ag.state.ar.us
California Attorney General:
caag.state.ca.us
California Office of Privacy Protection:
www.privacyprotection.ca.gov
California Department of Motor Vehicles:
www.dmv.ca.gov
Colorado Attorney General:
www.ago.state.co.us
Connecticut Attorney General:
www.cslib.org/attygenl
Delaware Attorney General:
www.state.de.us/attgen
District of Columbia Office of the Corporation Counsel:
occ.dc.gov/main.shtm
Florida Attorney General:
legal.firn.edu
Georgia Attorney General:
ganet.org/ago
Georgia Stop Identity Theft Network:
www.stopidentitytheft.org
Hawaii Attorney General:
www.state.hi.us/ag/index.html
2 5 6

C H A P T E R 1 1

Idaho Attorney General:
www2.state.id.us/ag
Illinois Attorney General:
www.ag.state.il.us
Indiana Attorney General:
www.in.gov
Iowa Attorney General:
www.iowaattorneygeneral.org
Kansas Attorney General:
www.accesskansas.org/ksag
Kentucky Attorney General:
www.law.state.ky.us
Louisiana Attorney General:
www.ag.state.la.us
Maine Attorney General:
www.state.me.us/ag
Maryland Attorney General:
www.oag.state.md.us
Massachusetts Attorney General:
www.ago.state.ma.us
Michigan Attorney General:
www.michigan.gov/ag
Minnesota Attorney General:
www.ag.state.mn.us
Mississippi Attorney General:
www.ago.state.ms.us
Missouri Attorney General:
www.ago.state.mo.us
Montana Attorney General:
doj.state.mt.us
Nebraska Attorney General:
www.ago.state.ne.us
Nevada Attorney General:
ag.state.nv.us
New Hampshire Attorney General:
www.state.nh.us/nhdoj
New Jersey Attorney General:
www.state.nj.us/lps
New Mexico Attorney General:
www.ago.state.nm.us
New York Attorney General:
www.oag.state.ny.us
2 5 7

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

North Carolina Attorney General:
www.jus.state.nc.us
North Dakota Attorney General:
www.ag.state.nd.us
Ohio Attorney General:
www.ag.state.oh.us
Oklahoma Attorney General:
www.oag.state.ok.us
Oregon Attorney General:
www.doj.state.or.us
Pennsylvania Attorney General:
www.attorneygeneral.gov
Rhode Island Attorney General:
www.riag.state.ri.us
South Carolina Attorney General:
www.scattorneygeneral.org
South Dakota Attorney General:
www.state.sd.us
Tennessee Attorney General:
www.attorneygeneral.state.tn.us
Texas Attorney General:
www.oag.state.tx.us
Utah Attorney General:
attorneygeneral.utah.gov
Vermont Attorney General:
www.state.vt.us/atg
Virginia Attorney General:
ww.oag.state.va.us
Washington Attorney General:
www.wa.gov/ago
West Virginia Attorney General:
www.state.wv.us/wvag
Wisconsin Attorney General:
www.doj.state.wi.us
Wyoming Attorney General:
attorneygeneral.state.wy.us
2 5 8

I N D E X

arrest 1-4, 28, 30, 54, 71-72, 83, 93, 99, 112, 119-123, 125,
138, 232-233, 254-255

ATM machine 12

bank account 5, 13, 15, 36, 46-47, 83, 90, 99-100, 102,
114, 139, 203-204, 207, 210, 230, 232, 240

bankruptcy 5, 134, 153, 167, 248

biometric identification system 39, 61, 73, 75, 77, 191-192

birth certificate fraud 69

breeder documents 51, 62, 68

bust-out schemes 88, 91-92

check washing 11, 239

children 6, 26, 29-30, 32-33, 43, 47, 105, 165-166, 238

children’s credit history 6

college campus 34

collusive employee 32

common family names 33

common sense 21, 78-79

computer technology 25

convenience 13, 97, 106, 174, 197, 203, 209, 213

corporate security 48

tips for businesses 192

credit bureaus 10-11, 17-18, 44, 53, 57, 149, 151-153, 157-163, 166-167, 170-171, 184-185, 190, 218-219, 221, 223-226, 228-230, 236-237, 243

Equifax 17, 53, 57, 151-152, 158, 160, 164-166, 185, 189,
219, 242-244

Experian 17, 53, 57, 90-91, 151-152, 157, 186, 219, 242-243

TransUnion 17, 53, 57, 151-152, 158, 186, 219, 242-243

259

I N D E X

credit card 2, 5-9, 11-13, 15-16, 18, 20, 25-27, 34-43, 45-46, 54, 57, 63-64, 69, 81, 84-86, 88-91, 93, 96-99,
102-103, 105-106, 110, 113-114, 121, 150, 161, 164, 169-171, 179-182, 186-188, 190-191, 194, 217, 224, 228-229,
232-233, 237, 239-242, 245, 247

credit monitoring services 160-161, 189

credit repair services 226-227

credit reports 5, 15, 17-19, 22, 33, 57, 92, 152-154, 158-160,
163, 166-167, 184-187, 189, 218-219, 221-223, 225,
227, 229-230, 232, 235-236, 242, 244-245

credit watch services 44, 190, 228, 233

creditors 14, 153, 155-156, 158, 218-219, 222-225, 237, 244

crime 1-2, 4, 6-8, 10, 14-16, 25, 30-31, 38, 40, 42, 50, 54,
65, 67, 81, 92, 94, 98, 107, 113, 125, 173, 188, 217,
223-224, 228, 232, 234-235, 237, 254-255

criminal act 3, 20, 115, 235

criminal violations 254

data mining 98, 103-104, 115-116

dead people 33, 55

Death Master File (DMF) 55-57

debit card 230, 252, 254

Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) 10-11, 36, 61-62, 64-68, 76, 78, 112, 222, 255-256

driver’s license 22, 26, 36, 51, 59-69, 72-75, 77-80, 82,
89, 108, 110, 112, 116, 119, 121, 123, 179, 191, 222, 254-255

drugs 29, 84, 107, 120-121, 217

dumpster diving 31

elderly 35-38, 123

electronic devices 213

e-mail addresses 201

e-mail scams 202, 204

Employee Verification Service (EVS) 108-109

employer identification number (EIN) 100, 228

employment information 41

employment-related fraud 9

entry-level employee 12, 240

260

I N D E X

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) 153-154, 156-157, 159, 163,
166, 230

Fair, Isaac & Co. (FICO) 17, 150-151, 158, 160-161, 185

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 19, 103-104, 113-115,
117, 120

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 6-10, 19, 28, 153, 163,
167, 171, 201, 204, 222, 228, 235, 237

financial crisis 3

financial services 18, 149-151, 157, 160, 166, 169

fraud 93, 96, 98-99, 101-102, 104-105, 107-113, 115, 119,
121, 124-125, 150-151, 154, 161-164, 169, 178-179, 181-182, 184-185, 187, 193, 200, 204, 210-211, 217-224,
229, 231, 235-237, 240, 242-245, 247-253, 255

ATM fraud 252

bankruptcy fraud 248

check fraud 150, 162, 193

credit card fraud 5, 8-9, 42, 54, 150, 161

financial fraud 151, 224

investment fraud 248-249

mail fraud 10, 39, 247

passport fraud 221, 245, 249

phone fraud 249-250

student loan fraud 251

tax fraud 145, 251

telemarketing fraud 211