When a criminal wrongfully obtains and uses another
individual's personal data in a manner that involves fraud
the act is referred to as identity theft.
Unfortunately, just about everyone knows someone who has
been a victim. A good friend of mine recently became a
victim. His case, (and 16 years of law enforcement
experience), prompted me to write this article.
*(If you have senior citizens in your life, PLEASE have them
read this and make sure that they understand. Seniors are
targeted more than anyone).
The following are actual incidents involving identity theft:
The victim - A medical doctor practicing at his successful
twenty-year-old office in central Georgia.
The victim realized that several important pieces of mail
that he had been expecting at his residence hadn't arrived
yet. He had expected two of the items to arrive more than
two weeks earlier. While attempting to telephone one of the
companies whose package had not arrived, the victim received
a telephone call from the sales manager at an automobile
dealership located in central Alabama. The manager stated
that he was calling to insure that all was well with the new
automobile that the doctor had purchased several days
earlier. The manager also stated that he would have
contacted the doctor earlier, however, all of the telephone
numbers listed on the doctor's purchase agreement were
incorrect. The manager had located the victim's telephone
number via the Internet. The victim had not purchased a new
automobile in over eight years.
Further investigation revealed that a nineteen-year-old
female from Nigeria who was legally in the United States on
a student visa had stumbled across the victim's ad for his
medical practice in the local Yellow Pages. After leaving
his office one evening, the victim was followed home by the
female subject. The next morning the subject walked into the
local post office and filled out a change of address card,
replacing the victim's home address with a post office box
address that the female subject had purchased earlier in the
week. All of the victim's personal mail would be sent to the
P.O. box instead of to his residence. Within days the
subject had received several items of mail addressed to the
victim, including pre-approved credit card offers and other
documents containing his social security number and date of
birth. Within two months the subject had acquired two
automobiles, a motorcycle, a house and multiple credit cards
on the victim's credit. The subject was arrested and charged
by the local authorities within three months of the initial
criminal act, however, the victim's credit was completely
destroyed.
A detective with the local police department who had
befriended the victim during the investigative process
stated that he telephoned the victim approximately two years
after the subject had been arrested. The victim had been
forced to close his medical practice and retire early due to
the incident.
The victim - A regional sales manager traveling in Georgia.
The victim fell asleep in his hotel room early one evening
after a day filled with meetings and conference calls. After
exiting the shower at approximately 7:00AM the next morning,
the victim noticed that his wallet, briefcase and laptop
computer were missing from the hotel room. Further
investigation revealed that the victim had not secured the
dead-bolt lock on the hotel room door the night before.
Someone utilized a pass card-key to enter the victim's hotel
room while he was sleeping and acquired the missing items.
Before the victim could finish speaking with the local
police and report the incident to his corporate office, his
corporate calling card number had been sold to several
subjects at the local airport. During the six-month
investigative process involving the victim's case along with
several others, (all of which originated at the same hotel),
the victim's personal information was utilized to open
several credit card accounts and to receive several high
interest cash loans.
The victim - A Georgia homeowner
The victim received a telephone call one morning from a
major credit card company customer service representative
who worked in the theft and fraud department. He was calling
to inquire about the unusually high dollar amounts that had
been charged on the victim's recently opened credit card
account. The victim had not opened any credit card accounts
in over five years. The representative then recommended that
the victim call the local police and file a police report.
The victim was informed by a police department supervisor
that for three days they had received several similar
complaints from the same subdivision. Further investigation
revealed that a male subject posing as a door-to-door
solicitor had retrieved several envelopes containing
pre-approved credit card promotions from mailboxes
throughout the subdivision.
(I was an arresting officer involved with the following
case)
The victims - Five major Atlanta area retail outlets
A search warrant was successfully obtained for an apartment
located in Dekalb County. The two male residents were
suspected of fraudulently ordering and receiving merchandise
via the Internet from several Atlanta area retail locations.
Upon entering the residence officers observed several
expensive and obviously new items of merchandise located
throughout the entire home, including:
- One twelve foot tall artificial Christmas tree containing
hand-blown glass ornaments valued at $3000.00
- Two forty inch projection television sets (one in the
living room and one in the master bedroom)
- Unopened boxes in the dining room containing several sets
of crystal and china valued at $10,000.00
- Several unopened boxes located throughout the home
containing computer equipment including monitors and PC
towers valued at $16,000.00
Investigative efforts revealed that the two subjects had
obtained a Customer Credit Listing book from another
individual who was at one time an employee of a credit
reporting agency. The book was the size of a telephone book
and contained thousands of listings in alphabetical order of
Atlanta area credit customers by full name, last known
mailing address, last known level of income and even social
security and date of birth information.
The subjects had highlighted certain names, (prioritized by
income level), and had utilized the victim's personal
information to obtain several credit cards from the retail
locations. The subjects would then utilize the credit cards
to order merchandise.
Five retail outlets dispatched seven large panel trucks to
retrieve their merchandise from the residence.
During the preliminary hearing for one of the subjects,
officers knew that the subject was a major flight risk and
were not pleased with the inadequate cash bond amount that
the presiding judge had placed on the subject. An officer
approached the bench and placed the large Customer Credit
Listing book down in front of the judge, opened it to a
book-marked page and pointed to the only line of highlighted
text on the page. Both subjects were denied bail by the
judge and were ordered to remain in jail until their trial
date.
The judges' credit information was highlighted.
Identity thieves will utilize anyone's personal information
in any way imaginable in order to profit financially,
including but not limited to:
- Procuring monies from the victim's established accounts
- Obtaining credit cards from banks and retailers
- Applying for and receiving cash loans
- Financing the purchase of anything from automobiles to
firearms (identity theft is a simple way for convicted
felons to by-pass gun laws, including background checks and
waiting periods)
- Establishing accounts with utility companies
- Obtaining a home loan or renting a home or apartment
- Obtaining employment
- Filing for bankruptcy (in the victim's name)
Methods utilized by identity thieves for obtaining a
victim's personal information include but are not limited
to:
- "Dumpster diving" or sifting through garbage at a victim's
residence, place of business or any retail establishment,
restaurant, night club, school, doctor's or dentist's office
or any location where there may be copies of credit card
receipts and other documentation containing personal
information.
- Mail theft. Pre approved credit card offers and other mail
material containing personal information are too often
easily obtainable by identity thieves.
- The theft of proprietary data containing employee
information from a company's human resource department or
even a briefcase. If employee spreadsheets contain no date
of birth or social security information, the names and
telephone numbers are sold to telemarketing or other similar
organizations for a profit.
- "Shoulder surfing." Identity thieves will even resort to
sitting in their automobile in a parking lot and will
utilize binoculars to read a victim's PIN number at an ATM
machine, or credit and/or calling card number at a payphone.
The following proactive steps will aid in the prevention of
identity theft and fraud:
- Insure that new orders of personal checks are delivered to
your bank, not your residence.
- Mail payments containing personal checks or money orders
from a secure public mailbox or the post office, not your
residential mailbox.
- When ordering a new or replacement credit card by mail,
write down the name and the extension of the representative
you speak with, as well as the expected arrival date for the
card. If the card does not arrive by the expected date,
telephone the representative immediately to inquire about
the disposition of your credit card.
- If an expected mail item does not arrive on the expected
date, or you notice a sudden decrease in your normal amount
of delivered mail or no mail delivery at all, inquire
regarding a possible fraudulent change of address at your
local post office.
- Credit accounts that are not used regularly are attractive
targets for identity thieves. Cancel accounts that have not
been used in the last six months or longer, and destroy the
credit cards.
- Purchase a crosscutting shredding machine. All
pre-approved credit promotion documentation, check stubs,
receipts and any documentation containing personal
information should be shredded before disposal.
- Do not give out any personal information over the
telephone. If a creditor "representative" calls and requests
that you provide them with any personal information, suggest
that the representative provide you with his or her
telephone number and extension, and inform them that you
will call them back momentarily with the information that
they are requesting. If the telephone number does not match
the toll free customer service number found on a monthly
statement or on the back of the credit card issued to you by
that creditor, call the actual customer service toll-free
telephone number to inquire about the validity of the call.
- Order an unlisted home telephone number, or at a minimum
request that your name be listed in the local telephone
directory by an initial and last name, and request that your
home address be removed from your listing.
- Do not participate in telemarketing promotions, and have
your information removed from promotional lists.
Telemarketing lists are bought and sold by companies and
individuals on a daily basis. Once you have participated in
a promotion over the telephone or by mail, (even if the
promotion offers a free product or service), you will notice
an immediate increase in the amount of promotional mail and
in the number of telemarketing calls you receive. This
greatly increases your risk of becoming an identity theft
victim.
- Do not utilize your credit card on the Internet until you
have read in full the company's privacy policy, and the
company's web site provides a secured page that utilizes
data encryption for credit card information. Many companies
inform e-commerce customers in the fine print contained in
their privacy policy that by purchasing their products via
their web site, you agree to accept all of the terms and
agreements contained in their privacy policy. Quite often
those terms include the re-distribution of your personal
information to other companies and creditors.
- Do not use a check or bank card on the Internet.
- Closely monitor all monthly bank and credit card account
statements for fraudulent withdrawals and charges. Keep
monthly statements for a minimum of one year.
- If your social security number is utilized as your drivers
license number, have it changed. Do not have your social
security number printed on personal checks.
- Order a copy of your credit report at least twice
annually.
- Maintain one document, preferably in a fire proof security
file or safe along with birth certificates, social security
cards, your home inventory and other important documentation
that contains the company name, account number, telephone
number and the family member names on each open credit
account. This will speed up the reporting process should you
ever become an identity theft victim.
If you suspect that you or someone that you know has become
a victim of identity theft, contact your local law
enforcement agency immediately to obtain a police report.
Early documentation is crucial. Send a copy of the following
letter to the major credit reporting agencies:
///////////SAMPLE LETTER//////////////////
Re: (Your full legal name/no initials)
Social Security No:__________________
Date of Birth:___________________ Spouses'
Name:_____________
Social Security No:_________________
Date of Birth:______________
Dear_____________,
In accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and for
the protection of my credit information, I respectfully
request that you take the following actions immediately:
- Provide me with my current credit report. (Enclosed find
$_____)
- Please add the following consumer alert to my credit
report: "Do not issue credit without telephoning me first at
the following number: __________." (This is an excellent
deterrent for imposters!)
- Please remove my name from any and all market mailing and
promotional lists. (Call 888-5OPTOUT to request information
removal for all three credit-reporting agencies as well.)
- Please do not change my mailing address or telephone
number without my prior authorization in writing.
- My current address is: _________________
- My current telephone number at my office is: _____________
- My current telephone number at my home is: _____________
Enclosed you will find a copy of a current utility bill to
confirm the accuracy of the above information.
Please do not provide my credit information to anyone
without my prior authorization via telephone, fax, or in
writing.
Please provide me with the necessary information so that I
may set up a password to use for telephonic communications
with your agency.
If I do not receive anything from you in writing within ten
(10) business days from the date in which you signed the
return receipt for this letter, I will assume that you
unconditionally agree to insure that the above actions are
taken.
Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this
matter.
Respectfully yours,
///////////SAMPLE LETTER//////////////////
J.C. Hurst is the IT/Internet Marketing Director for The
Ziegler Corporations.
You may contact J.C. at 800.726.0510
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