Transcript IDENTITY THEFT

Deter, Detect,
Defend:
The FTC’s Program on Identity
Theft
What is Identity Theft?
 When
someone else uses your personally
identifying information without your
knowledge or permission to
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Obtain Credit Cards
Get Wireless or phone products, services
Get Loans and Mortgages
Obtain Employment
Avoid Criminal Penalties
Commit Other Frauds or Crimes
What Kind of Information Does
an Identity Thief Need?
 Identity
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thieves use:
Social Security Number
Name and Address
Date of Birth
Mother’s Maiden Name
Driver’s License
Credit Card, Bank and other Account
Numbers
Consequences of Identity Theft
 Identity
thief seldom pays bills for debts
incurred under your name
 You may not discover for months or years
 You are saddled with bad credit report
 Due to bad credit report, you may be denied
or charged higher rates for new credit, loans,
mortgages, utility service, or employment
 If criminal record created in your name, you
may fail background checks for employment,
firearms, etc., may even spend time in jail
Students Are a Vulnerable Group
Developing
financial identity
Targeted age category by ID
thieves
Protecting Yourself
Information
Source
Your wallet
How Thieves
Work
Protecting
Yourself
Theft
Carry
You
“Phishing”
Skimming
Scams
Social Engineering
Theft
minimum ID
information on you
don’t carry SSN card
change health ins. #, if
possible
Change driver’s license
Pay attention to card
access devices
Don’t
give out info. to
uninitiated contacts
Secure your info. in your
home and workplace from
others
Protecting Yourself
Information
Source
How Thieves
Work
Protecting
Yourself
Mail
Theft
Use
Trash
“Dumpster
Diving”
Shred
locked mailbox
Pick up mail promptly,
stop delivery on vacations
Use postal mailboxes for
outgoing mail
personal
information
1-888-5-OPTOUT
Protecting Yourself
Information
Source
How Thieves
Work
Protecting
Yourself
Companies or
institutions where
you’re a customer,
employee, patient,
student, etc.
Theft
Ask
corruption
Pretexting
Dumpster Diving
about information
security procedures in
your workplace and
businesses where you’re
a client or customer
Minimize the use of
your SSN
Put strong passwords
on your accounts
Public records
Most likely find
information posted
online
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Bribery
Inside
Personal Computer Security
 Keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware software
updated
 Use a firewall
 Set up security protocols properly if file sharing or
using Wi-fi
 Use a delete program to wipe your hard drive
before getting rid of your old computer
 Visit http://onguardonline.gov for more tips.
Know what to do if your information
gets lost or stolen
– place a fraud alert, check credit
reports
 Existing accounts – close and open new
ones, place strong passwords
 Driver’s license, etc. – contact issuing
agency
 SSNs
How Can You Tell if You’re a
Victim?
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Check credit reports – www.AnnualCreditReport.com
or 1-877-322-8228
Monitor financial accounts
Failure to receive bills or other mail signaling theft or
an address change by the identity thief
Receiving credit cards for which you did not apply
Denial of credit, or offer of poor credit terms such as
high interest rate, for no apparent reason
Receiving calls or letters from debt collectors or
businesses about merchandise or services you did
not buy
What Should Victims Do?
 Immediately:
 Call fraud lines of CRAs and get fraud alerts
placed on credit reports; review your free credit
report for inaccuracies
 Close affected accounts: Contact creditors’ fraud
departments, ask if they accept IDT Affidavit, if
not, ask for their fraud forms
 File a complaint with FTC, take complaint to police
 Report to local police, get copy of report
Protections for Victims
 Know
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your legal rights
Fair Credit Reporting Act
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
The Truth in Lending Act
The Electronic Fund Transfer Act
 Contact
state or federal agencies if you
need additional help with specific
problems
Credit Report Clean-Up
If Victim Provides CRAs with Identity
Theft Report:
 CRAs will block the inaccurate
information on victim’s credit report
resulting from identity theft
 When victim’s credit report is sent out, it
will be correct
Filing a Complaint with the FTC
File online at www.ftc.gov/idtheft or by
calling 1-877-IDTHEFT
 Get helpful information
 Use complaint to get an identity theft
report from the police
 Report law violations by companies
 Helps law enforcement
 Informs FTC of problem trends
Resources
 www.ftc.gov/idtheft
 http://onguardonline.gov
 1-877-ID
THEFT (438-4338)
 Deter, Detect, Defend: Avoid ID Theft
and Take Charge: Fighting Back Against
ID Theft
 ID Theft Affidavit