A Consumer’s Guide to ID Theft Awareness and Avoidance

The following appears courtesy of Kroll Fraud Solutions.

The FTC estimates that as many as nine million Americans have their identities stolen each year, so chances are high that you or someone you know has fallen victim to what has become one of America’s fastest-growing crimes.  While there are no guarantees as far as prevention, there are certain steps every consumer can and should be taking – before and after the fact – to greatly reduce their potential risk. 

ID theft expert Brian Lapidus, chief operating officer of Kroll’s Fraud Solutions, has unique frontline experience helping today’s businesses and consumers safeguard against and respond to data breaches.   

Below he offers some important advice that every consumer should know about protecting themselves from the damages of fraud.   At Kroll, Lapidus oversees a highly-skilled team that includes veteran licensed investigators specializing in supporting breach victims and restoring individuals' identities to pre-theft status. 

1. Beware the word ‘prevent.’ No person and no product can prevent identity theft. As long as criminals can benefit from stealing, there will be theft. Sensitive personal information (SPI) is everywhere, housed and archived in a mind-boggling variety of ways. Individuals and companies can reduce access to SPI and improve safeguards around it by working to change how we share, collect, store and dispose of information. 

2. There are no ‘guarantees.’  This mantra holds true for a lot of things in life and dealing with identity theft is no exception. While a number of instances of fraud can be restored to pre-theft status, some identity dilemmas simply can’t be fixed. If you’re on the ‘no fly list’ thanks to an imposter or an error, you’ll stay there. A third-party solution cannot deliver a remedy.

3. Watch for ‘shoulder surfers’ and ‘skimmers.’ Shield the entry of personal identification numbers (PINs), and be aware of people standing entirely too close by when using your credit or debit card in public. Especially with the advent of cell phone cameras, a sneaky, shoulder surfing thief can get your private information pretty easily, if you’re not careful. It’s also advisable to use teller machines that are familiar to you, so you are in a better position to identify when the equipment looks different or doesn’t “feel right.” Your increased awareness may reveal a skimmer’s attempt to steal PINs and banking details at that site.

4. Keep your Social Security card safe at home. Unless you’re on your way to fill out a job application, there are very few reasons to carry around the crown jewel of SPI. At lunch a few weeks ago, the woman beside me opened her wallet for a credit card and there was her Social Security card, too. Remember, ID theft and fraud are not exclusively credit-related – thieves can use a clean Social Security number to construct a whole new life.

5. Destroy before you dump that old computer. Erasing data just enables the computer to write over that space again; it doesn’t actually eliminate the original bits and bytes. Physically remove the hard-drive to ensure you’re not tossing out or passing along your personal details. Our company is often called upon to recover data from an erased or damaged drive; we’re very good at it – and so are some professional thieves.

6. Choose ‘forget me’ instead of ‘remember me.’  How many Web sites do you frequent that invite you to enable an automatic log on the next time you visit? Don’t check that box! When convenience trumps confidentiality, you’re asking for trouble. The harder you make it for hackers to follow your trail into an online store or bank account, the better.

7. Don’t rely on fraud alerts or credit freezes alone. Fraud alerts are meant to stop an identity thief from opening new accounts in your name. Credit freezes let you restrict access to your credit report, which would also make it hard for someone else to open new accounts. But, neither one will stop a thief from trading your SPI for cash, or using it for tax fraud or in any of the countless other ways fraudsters exploit stolen identities.

8. Practice prudent posting.  Social networking sites on the internet enable individuals around the world to chat, share photos, recruit employees, date, post resumes, auction property, and more. Because the Web makes it possible for any posted document to link with another, any data you put out online have the potential to stay there for what amounts to electronic eternity.

9. Keep that key. When you check out of a hotel where you were issued a card-key to unlock the door to your room, don’t leave the card-key behind. Hold on to it until you’re safely home and can shred or otherwise discard it safely. Some say it’s an urban myth that the card-keys hold vital details like credit card numbers, while others report having tested and confirmed the presence of private data coded into the magnetic strip. Even if there’s no definitive answer, why risk it?

10. What’s in your wallet? Make photocopies of the personal material in your wallet: Driver’s license, credit cards, insurance cards, all of it – front and back. Should your wallet be lost or stolen, you won’t be left wondering what was actually taken, and you’ll be able to quickly notify the appropriate agencies about what has taken place.

Comments

[KC]

9. Keep that key. When you check out of a hotel where you were issued a card-key to unlock the door to your room, don’t leave the card-key behind. Hold on to it until you’re safely home and can shred or otherwise discard it safely. Some say it’s an urban myth that the card-keys hold vital details like credit card numbers, while others report having tested and confirmed the presence of private data coded into the magnetic strip. Even if there’s no definitive answer, why risk it?

Definitely an urban myth.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/hotelkey.asp

[Kevin]

All good advice. Thanks.

[Todd]

I had my identity stolen a year and a half ago. They lifted three pieces of outgoing mail from a Canada Post mailbox on the street. I imagine they came at night, dumped it out, took what was promising and put the rest back.

They used the materials to create new accounts; my existing accounts were not compromised. However, it was still a very costly and time consuming experience.

I shredded all my junk mail, but never considered that mailboxes were not safe. Perhaps obvious to most in retrospect, but I hope this comment saves at least one person this experience.

[Festivus]

If you can't or don't want to remove your hard drive when getting rid of a laptop, what is the best way to permanently erase all the information on it??

I use Quicken on my computer which has tons of my personal information. I also keep files of all my tax records and other such things on it. But If I get rid of my laptop I will probably sell it or give it to someone, not destroy the hard drive.

If I re-format the drive will that be enough? Or is there some software that will wipe the drive permanently?