8 things I learned from the FBI to prevent Identity Theft
On June 15th we hosted an event presented by Special Agent Duffey of the FBI about preventing Identity Theft and safeguarding confidential information. Special Agent Duffey talked about a real life case involving a national department store; the recap is below.
DID YOU KNOW?
Most of your information is already online. Google, zabasearch, and a variety of other places can provide your name, address, phone number, d.o.b., and more, for FREE!
Armed with this information a clever criminal can pose as a trusted representative from a company that you do business with. If a criminal gets a hold of the list of clients who have credit cards from that company, a simple non-threatening phone call might go something like this:
Hello Mrs. Smith, I am calling from [NATIONAL DEPARTMENT STORE]. Your credit card was flagged for fraudulent activity. Do you still live at [THE ADDRESS I JUST GOOGLED] and have [THE SAME PHONE NUMBER I JUST ZABASEARCHED]? Great, now that you trust me…Can you please confirm your social security number?
And…BAM! Kiss your credit history goodbye.
- It takes the average victim 170 hours and $1,000 to correct their stolen identity.
- Today, nearly 1 in 5 Americans have been victims of Identity Theft.
Here are 8 tips I learned from Agent Duffey that might help you avoid becoming the next statistic:
- Protect your Social Security Number. Never give it out to anyone you don’t know…Ever! Ever, ever! Your SS# is your identity. In a situation like the one described above, hang up the phone and call the national department store at a number listed in the yellowpages.
- Check your Credit! Stolen information can lay dormant and resurface 5-10 years later. Annualcreditreport.com will check all 3 reporting agencies and is FREE once a year. *Note: This is not the one you hear advertised on the radio, DO NOT USE Freecreditreport.com, which is not free.
- Shred Everything with personal information.
- kEEp a S@fe c0mputeR. Passwords should not be words from the dictionary. Substitute $ymbol$, num6ers, and rAndom upperCase letters. Antivirus software and Firewalls are your friend and there is no such thing as being overprotected.
- Know your Surroundings. Supermarket and convenient store ATM & Debit Card machines are targets for cloning.
- Don’t open email from an unknown sender. Regardless of how enticing the subject line is, delete unknown emails immediately. These are scams and phishing attempts.
- Laptop Security. Never keep any personal or business information on a portable device.
- Talk to your Family. The elderly are often targets. They are friendly, love to talk to people, and not tech savvy. Criminals will contact them posing as officials or a family member in need late at night when they are disoriented.
Remember that you are only as strong as your weakest link, and I hope that these points have helped you discover where to find yours. For more information…
call 1-877-IDTHEFT
Visit this website: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/idtheft/idt08.shtm
Or contact your local authorities.
Thank you Special Agent Duffey for an entertaining and terrifying presentation.
