When Cmdr. Gloria Christensen retired from the Navy at full disability due to a service-related head injury a decade ago, she thought the worst was over as she begun to go back to some normalcy of life. Without brians club , she asked for – and was granted – a custodian certified by the VA, to greatly help her manage her financial affairs as she recovered.
Now, a decade later, she’s learned a bitter lesson that she wants other veterans to learn: Someone can do tremendous – sometimes irreparable – harm 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 buy and sell stocks on the Internet — 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 considered a universal number for all purposes,” says New Mexico State Representative Danice Picraux, who has introduced legislation in Christensen’s home state to try 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 small business to need a customer to give his / her Social Security number as a condition of lease, purchase or provision of service.
“There is a provision in this law that when a preexisting state or federal law requires that a number be provided, then your person can ask for it and have it,” says Picraux, “however in the future, when you go to your doctor’s office, and they ask for your Social Security number, you don’t have to give it and they still have to last.”
Another provision in Picraux’s proposal would forbid the printing of more than the last five numbers of your credit card number on any receipt. “No expiration dates on the receipts,” says Picraux. “Your credit card information is meant 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 lack of $18,000 each.
And cleanup – if it can be achieved – is expensive and time consuming. 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 may take typically $1,173 and 175 man-hours. And since those man-hours will most likely not be consecutive, Abagnale notes that “it usually is months and even years to regain financial health,” during which time getting a job, obtaining loans and housing, even writing checks for utility bills and groceries, can literally turn into a federal case.
If you suspect or know you’ve been a victim of identity fraud, you can find 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 don’t know and can probably never meet are actively searching for credit card receipts in public areas trash cans; and “dumpster divers” focus on going right through household and business trash. They are able to fill out a big change of address form with the post office to divert your mail to another location while they spend on your credit cards. They look for your business or personnel records at the job. They can rob your home 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 are able to get your birth certificate by posing as a lawyer, and develop a new identity with your name. They can buy private information from dishonest employees of companies which have a right to your information; or buy your personal information from a variety of websites on the internet that sell detailed factual statements about you. They can counterfeit your checks or debit cards and drain your bank accounts. They are able to create new bank accounts and mobile phones in your name.
And then they can even seek bankruptcy relief under your name in order to avoid the debts they’ve racked up making use of your name!
PROTECT YOURSELF!
Abagnale, Picraux, and government agencies involve some suggestions in order to assist you to keep your good name good and your private information private. A very important factor each of them emphasize: Be proactive, and assume that somebody wants your personal information. The best, cheapest solution to protect yourself is by using a shredder (Abagnale advises a crosscut shredder) on each and every piece of mail you don’t intend to keep. Tear covers off catalogs and shred the covers, alongside any other piece of mail that contains your name, address, account numbers or any other information. Specifically, shred every credit card application you receive , nor apply for; so when you break up expired credit cards, usually do not throw all of the pieces away at the same time or in exactly the same place.
An easy way to remember the basics of protecting yourself has been the acronym, SCARS: Sharing, Credit, Access, Recognition and SS#.
S is for Sharing: which 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 financial institution where you do business and tell them that you do not want them to talk about any information about you without your written permission.
Check the boxes on any form you fill out, 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; be prepared to see results in about a few months.
Get your phone number off call lists by writing calling Preference Service, PO Box 1559, Carmel NY 10512.
Be aware that supermarket and other “frequent buyer” cards reveal your buying habits along with other information you may not want disseminated. Count the price: is that discount worth it?
Think twice before entering any contests. The info -your name, address, contact number – is nearly certain to be sold to marketers. Don’t think it? Enter a contest with a misspelling of your first name or put in a non-existent apartment number, and wait and see the amount of junk mail you get addressed that way.
C is for Credit. Below are a few strategies for protecting your credit rating:
Check your credit file at least once per year. Listed below are the names and telephone 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 every report – cheap insurance.
If a credit card bill you’re expecting doesn’t arrive promptly, call the company to find out why – and have them check your mailing address to see if someone has done a big 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 not be guessed, and store any records of the passwords securely.
Subscribe to something, such as for example Privacy Guard, that delivers you with the contact information of every company that accesses your credit report. Abagnale uses such a service, saying, “I consider their annual fee money well spent.”
Cancel all unsolicited “pre-approved” bank cards.
When renewing credit cards, bank cards, and telephone cards, always request the security code immediately.
“Don’t be surprised in the event that you receive an unexpected call from a credit card company asking about a unique purchase or group of purchases, in case you haven’t lost your card,” advises Picraux. “The company 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 already have that information.”
Never pay “up-front” for a loan or credit. The FTC warns, “Remember that legitimate lenders never ‘guarantee’ financing or credit card before you apply, particularly if you have bad credit, no credit, or perhaps a bankruptcy.”
Carefully look over credit card bills before paying them, and personally reconcile your own bank statements promptly upon receiving them.
A is for Access: and anyone-friend, foe, family, or stranger – who has access to all 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 out on the machine and do them simultaneously.) Keep in a locked, secure invest your home or safe deposit box. In addition, do not carry any credit cards or ID cards with you that you don’t absolutely need – rather than take your Social Security card with you -keep it locked up too.
Report stolen or lost checks, bank cards, medical cards, military ID cards, drivers’ licenses, even library cards immediately.
Make absolutely sure in your house that blank checks, bank statements, account information and other data aren’t 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 exists a list of services and check security features that are “must see.”
Never mail your bill payments or checks from home. “They may be 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 one to sell (or “give”!) you something, or who wants your private information.
Don’t give your Social Security number from the phone, nor any other personal information to retailers or other strangers.
Don’t transact any business over the phone 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 desire to hear from again..
Know who you’re dealing with. “Walk away from any company it doesn’t clearly state its name, home address, and phone number,” advises the FTC. “A Web site alone or a mail drop box should raise suspicions.”
In the event that you buy online, be sure the site is secure by reading its privacy statements before purchasing or giving personal information. Use firewall software, especially if you utilize high-speed Internet services. Update virus protection software religiously.
To complete the word SCARS, here are specific ideas to keep your Social Security number (S) from the wrong hands:
When asked for the Social Security number, ask questions. Say, “Why do you need that number? What happens easily don’t give it for you? Is it possible to accept any substitute?” And if it’s mandatory that you supply your number, Abagnale advises one to request that 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 decision has been made.” Abagnale says a lender or retail manager must 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 in it. “Thieves will not discover 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 once a year to check on for fraud. The Social Security fraud hotline is (800) 269-0271.
And lastly, the X-Files warning is appropriate: 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 the bookkeeper or other entrusted person you’ve treated like family for decades-as Cmdr. Christensen ruefully discovered — shouldn’t be given carte blanche with your personal information, bank statements and bills.
“I’ve been doing this for 25 years,” says Abagnale, “and it’s never the person who’s worked for you personally for half a year that rips you off for $25,000. It certainly is the long-trusted employee.”