When Cmdr. Gloria Christensen retired from the Navy at full disability because of service-related head injury ten years ago, she thought the worst was over as she begun to go back to some normalcy of life. Without members of the family nearby, she asked for – and was granted – a custodian certified by the VA, to greatly help her manage her financial affairs as she recovered.
Now, ten years later, she has learned a bitter lesson that she wants other veterans to learn: Someone can perform tremendous – sometimes irreparable – damage to you, just by access your social security number.
You see, while Christensen continued her recuperation, sustained financially by allotments from her tax-free disability payments administered by her custodian, she never dreamed that same custodian was using Christensen’s Social Security number to get and sell stocks on the net — racking up enough profits that the IRS came after Christensen for over $200,000 in back taxes.
Now, after nine months of wrangling with lawyers, federal tax specialists and her custodian who denied everything, Christensen is $7000 poorer, sadder and wiser.
A UNIVERSAL NUMBER?
“Your Social Security number was never meant to be a universal number for several purposes,” says New Mexico State Representative Danice Picraux, who has introduced legislation in Christensen’s home state to attempt to staunch the bleeding-out of her constituents’ resources through identity theft. Her NM House Bill 905 – “Privacy Protection Act” — will make it illegal in her state for a business to require a customer to give their Social Security number as a disorder of lease, purchase or provision of service.
“There is a provision in this law that when an existing state or federal law requires a number be provided, then your person can require it and have it,” says Picraux, “however in the future, when you attend your doctor’s office, and they require your Social Security number, you don’t need to give it plus they still have to serve you.”
A second provision in Picraux’s proposal would forbid the printing of more than the last five amounts of your credit card number on any receipt. “And no expiration dates on the receipts,” says Picraux. “Your charge card information is supposed to be yours and yours alone.”
NATIONAL CONCERN
Such legislation reflects a problem that borders on urgency. The Federal Trade Commission’s annual report about consumer complaint categories in 2002 says that identity theft topped the list of top ten fraud issues, with 43 percent of the complaints. The Department of Justice says that identity theft affects between 500,000 and 700,000 Americans-up 40 percent from just last year-hundreds of a large number of people with the average loss of $18,000 each.
And cleanup – if it can be achieved – is expensive and frustrating. In accordance with Frank Abagnale – the clever crook-turned-crime-consultant whose life was recently chronicled in the movie, Catch Me WHEN YOU CAN — getting just your credit file scrubbed of identity theft can take typically $1,173 and 175 man-hours. And since those man-hours probably won’t be consecutive, Abagnale notes that “it might be months or even years to regain financial health,” where time getting a job, obtaining loans and housing, even writing checks for bills and groceries, can literally turn into a federal case.
In the event that you suspect or know you’ve been a victim of identity fraud, there are steps to take no time to waste. But prevention is cheaper, easier, and much more satisfying than cleanup.
Don’t minimize your individual risk. People you do not know and can probably never meet are actively looking for credit card receipts in public trash cans; and “dumpster divers” focus on going through household and business trash. They can fill out a change of address form with the post office to divert your mail to some other location while they spend on your bank cards. They look for your organization or personnel records at work. They can rob your house or use special software on your own present – and discarded – computers. They are able to get your credit file by pretending to be always a landlord or employer. They can get your birth certificate by posing as an attorney, and create a new identity together with your name. They can buy private information from dishonest employees of companies which have a right to your details; or buy your personal information from a variety of online sites that sell detailed factual statements about you. They are able to counterfeit your checks or debit cards and drain your bank accounts. They are able to create new bank accounts and cell phones in your name.
And then they are able to even file for bankruptcy under your name to avoid the debts they’ve racked up making use of your name!
PROTECT YOURSELF!
Abagnale, Picraux, and government agencies involve some suggestions as a way to assist you to keep your good name good and your private information private. One thing they all emphasize: Be proactive, and assume that somebody wants your private information. The best, cheapest solution to protect yourself is to use a shredder (Abagnale advises a crosscut shredder) on each and every piece of mail you do not plan to keep. Tear covers off catalogs and shred the covers, along with any other piece of mail that contains your name, address, account numbers or any information. In particular, shred every charge card application you receive and don’t apply for; so when you cut up expired credit cards, usually do not throw all of the pieces away concurrently or in the same place.
An easy way to keep in mind the fundamentals of protecting yourself is with the acronym, SCARS: Sharing, Credit, Access, Recognition and SS#.
S is for Sharing: that is what happens when you’re on almost any mailing list. The fewer you’re on, the more secure your personal information is. How to stay off them:
Contact every lender where you do business and tell them that you don’t want them to talk about any information regarding you without your written permission.
Check the boxes on any application form you complete, specifying that your information isn’t to be disseminated.
Get your name off mailing lists by writing the Mail Preference Service, PO Box 643, Carmel NY, 10512. Cost is $5 for online registration; expect to see results in about a few months.
Get your contact number off call lists by writing the Telephone Preference Service, PO Box 1559, Carmel NY 10512.
Be aware that supermarket along with other “frequent buyer” cards reveal your buying habits and other information you may not want disseminated. Count the cost: is that discount worth it?
Think twice before entering any contests. The information -your name, address, contact number – is almost certain to be sold to marketers. Don’t believe it? Enter a contest with a misspelling of one’s first name or put in a non-existent apartment number, and wait and see just how much junk mail you get addressed that way.
C is for Credit. Below are a few tips for protecting your credit rating:
Check your credit report at least once per year. Here are the names and phone numbers of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax (1-800-685-1111); Experian (1-888-397-3742), and TransUnion (1-800-916-8800.) Expect to pay about $10 for each report – cheap insurance.
If a charge card bill you’re expecting doesn’t arrive promptly, call the company to determine why – and also have them check your mailing address to see if someone has filled out a change of address form without your permission.
Place passwords on your charge card, bank and phone accounts. Choose a mix of letters and numbers that can’t be guessed, and store any records of the passwords securely.
Subscribe to something, such as for example Privacy Guard, that provides you with the contact information of every company that accesses your credit file. Abagnale uses this type of service, saying, “I consider their annual fee money well spent.”
Cancel all unsolicited “pre-approved” bank cards.
When renewing bank cards, charge cards, and telephone cards, always request the security code immediately.
“Don’t be surprised in the event that you receive an urgent call from a credit card company asking about an unusual purchase or group of purchases, although you may haven’t lost your card,” advises Picraux. “The business is merely doing its job of protecting its customers. But don’t hand out any information should they don’t curently have your account number – a legitimate caller will curently have that information.”
Never pay “up-front” for a loan or credit. The FTC warns, “Remember that legitimate lenders never ‘guarantee’ a loan or credit card before you apply, especially if you have bad credit, no credit, or perhaps a bankruptcy.”
Carefully look over credit card bills before paying them, and personally reconcile your personal bank statements promptly upon receiving them.
A is for Access: and anyone-friend, foe, family, or stranger – who has usage of any of your personal documents has you at their mercy.
Take every charge card and every other ID card in your wallet and create a photocopy of front and back (spread several from the device and do them simultaneously.) Retain in a locked, secure invest your home or safe deposit box. In addition, usually do not carry any credit cards or ID cards with you you do not absolutely need – and never take your Social Security card with you -keep it locked up too.
Report stolen or lost checks, credit cards, medical cards, military ID cards, drivers’ licenses, even library cards immediately.
Make absolutely sure in your home that blank checks, bank statements, account information and other data are not accessible to guests, domestic help, tradesmen and repair persons, among others. Consider buying a lockbox with a tamper-proof lock for such documents.
Scrutinize your individual and business check forms. Abagnale says that annual check fraud losses exceed 20 billion dollars. On his site, www.abagnale.com), there is a list of services and check security features that are “must see.”
Never mail your bill payments or checks from your home. “They are often stolen from your own mailbox and washed clean in chemicals,” says Abagnale. “Take them to the post office.”
R is for Recognize: Watch out for anyone unknown to you who approaches you to sell (or “give”!) you something, or who wants your private information.
Don’t give your Social Security number out on the phone, nor any other personal information to retailers or other strangers.
Don’t transact any business over the phone that you don’t initiate, and then and then companies you know and trust. Say, “Take me off your call list” to any telemarketer you do not want to hear from again..
Know who you’re dealing with. “Leave from any company it doesn’t clearly state its name, home address, and telephone number,” advises the FTC. “A Web site alone or a mail drop box should raise suspicions.”
If you buy online, be certain the website is secure by reading its privacy statements before purchasing or giving personal information. Use firewall software, especially if you use high-speed Internet services. Update virus protection software religiously.
To complete the word SCARS, listed below are specific ideas to keep your Social Security number (S) out from the wrong hands:
When asked for the Social Security number, ask questions. Say, “Why do you want that number? What happens easily don’t give it for you? Can you accept any substitute?” And when it’s mandatory that you supply your number, Abagnale advises you to request your number be either truncated or obliterated on loan and credit applications, and that “your original credit report be shredded before your eyes or returned for you once a choice has been made.” Abagnale says a lender or retail manager needs to retain only your name and credit score to justify a decision to grant or deny your credit request.
Never put your Social Security number on checks, and only put your first initial on them. “Thieves will not know how to sign your checks and may not know in case you are male or female,” advises Picraux.
Order your Social Security Earnings and Benefits Statement one per year to check on for fraud. The Social Security fraud hotline is (800) 269-0271.
And finally, the X-Files warning is suitable: trust no one. Although most identity theft occurs whenever a stranger steals your individual information, it is possible to lose as much or more just from friends or family who have access to your records and accounts. Even brians club or other entrusted person you’ve treated like family for decades-as Cmdr. Christensen ruefully discovered — must not be given carte blanche with your personal information, bank statements and bills.
“I’ve been achieving this for 25 years,” says Abagnale, “and it’s never the individual who’s worked for you personally for half a year that rips you off for $25,000. It’s always the long-trusted employee.”
