 Number 247 - December 2003 |
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| Protect Yourself from Identity Theft | |
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by Ira Wilsker From the November 2003 issue of the I/O Port Newsletter | |
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Last week I gave you the
frightening national statistics on Identity theft. Locally, despite the
lack of public pronouncements, it is a problem in this area. In 2002,
Texas ranked fifth nationally in the rate of identity theft, at 68.9
victims per 100,000 population. Neighboring Louisiana had a rate less
than half that of Texas, at 29.7. With a population in this region in
excess of 500,000, we may have had approximately 350 victims in 2002.
Compared nationally, the Texas rate was only lower than D.C. (123
victims per 100,000 population), California (90.7), Arizona (88.0), and
Nevada (85.3). In absolute terms, 14,357 Texans were victims of identity
theft last year. Houston led the Texas list with 2654 victims, Dallas
1224, San Antonio 825, Austin 543, and Fort Worth with 472. Sadly, if
you have been a victim, you are far from being alone.
By understanding the types of identity theft common in Texas, we can harden ourselves to reduce our victimization. Of identity theft victims in Texas, the largest number, 39% or about 5600, were victims of credit card fraud. This rate was slightly below the national rate of 42%. Texans were about 2.5 times more likely to have an unauthorized new account opened in their names (25.9% of Texas victims), than to have an existing account hijacked (9.4%). The largest utility fraud type was the opening of new cellular phone accounts in an unauthorized name, with 8.1% of the victims, nearly 1200 Texans, victimized. Sadly, the rate of bank fraud identity theft is higher in Texas than the national rate, 22% (about 3160 victims), vs. 17% nationally. Texans are far more likely to have their existing bank accounts illicitly accessed (14.2% or about 2050 victims), then the national rate of 8.1%. Other Texas identity theft victimization rates are drivers' licenses wrongly issued in the name of the victim (3.9% of victims in Texas); business, personal, or student loans fraudulently made in the victims' names (2.3%, or about 330 victims); auto loans or leases (2.3%); and perhaps the most insidious identity theft of all is the 2.3% of victims in Texas whose identities were falsely given to law enforcement following arrest for an illegal activity. Last year about 330 of us Texans may have generated a criminal record based on a perpetrators stealing of our identity. The Federal Trade Commission has published a list of tips on its site at www.consumer.gov/idtheft. According to the FTC we cannot absolutely prevent identity theft, but we can minimize our risks. The first recommendation is to get a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies on an annual basis. There may be a charge of up to $9 per copy. Verify that the credit reports only include authorized activities. The three major credit bureaus and their contact information are Equifax, www.equifax.com, 1-800-685-1111; Experian, www.experian.com, 1-888-397-3742; and TransUnion, www.transunion.com, 1-800-916-8800. Unfortunately, many victims first uncover the crime when they apply for a loan, and find that there is a problem. It may be a good practice to check your credit report before submitting any major credit application. Another tactic is to password protect your credit card, bank and phone accounts, being careful to avoid using easy to guess passwords. Avoid using Mothers maiden name forms of identity. |
The home and workplace
have become illicit sources of identities. In the home be sure that
personal information is secure. In many cases, roommates, maids or
servants, and repair personnel have been determined to be the thieves.
In the workplace there are often many people who have access to your
personal information. Determine who has access, and verify that
sensitive personal information is securely maintained. Also inquire
about the disposal of obsolete records that may be taken by crooks
dumpster diving.
Do not give out any personal information over the internet, phone, or by mail unless you know for certain with whom you are dealing. Currently, one of the common methods of stealing identity is Pfishing, where an email or website illicitly appears to be from a known source and needs to verify personal information, credit card numbers, PIN numbers, mothers maiden name, and other critical information. Recently such Pfishing expeditions have falsely appeared to have been from Ebay, PayPal, CitiBank, BestBuy, and other recognizable companies. Also be suspicious if someone calls on the phone alleging to be from your ISP or a government agency claiming to need that information. If suspicious, do not give the information, and call the real company on the customer service number listed on your monthly statements or listed in the phone book. In our area roadside mailboxes are a common repository for outgoing mail; identity thieves know this and can harvest our mail. The FTC recommends that we drop mail in official post office mailboxes, and that we should collect our mail from our mailboxes promptly. If you are going to be away from home call the Post Office at 1-800-275-8777 to request a vacation hold. Our household trash is a bonanza for identity thieves. Shredders are inexpensive and a good way to make it difficult for thieves to get information. Shred or tear into small pieces such trash as charge receipts, insurance information, checks, bills, and bank statements. Unsolicited applications for credit cards are a prime target of thieves; be sure to destroy them before discarding. Another bonanza is those checks periodically sent by our credit card companies to enable us to get cash or payoff large balances on other loans; destroy these before discarding. Better safe than sorry. The statistics listed are TEXAS sxpecific, but you can easily substitute your local statistics. They are on your STATE specific chart at: www.consumer.gov/idtheft/stats.html. For example the Oklahoma data is in PDF format at www.consumer.gov/ idtheft/ idt_statemap/ Oklahoma%20CY2002.pdf NATIONAL data is at: www.ftc.gov/os/2003/09/synovatereport.pdf There is other useful data on this FTC site, and there is a CENTRAL REPOSITORY of ID THEFT and other consumer data at www.consume.gov |
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Number 247 - December 2003
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