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 return to some normalcy of life. Without family nearby, she asked for – and was granted – a custodian certified by the VA, to greatly help her manage her financial affairs as she recovered.
Now, ten years later, she has learned a bitter lesson that she wants other veterans to learn: Someone can do tremendous – sometimes irreparable – harm to you, just by having access to 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 — accumulating 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 only $7000 poorer, sadder and wiser.
A UNIVERSAL NUMBER?
“Your Social Security number was never meant to be 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 her or his Social Security number as a disorder of lease, purchase or provision of service.
“There is a provision in this law that if an existing state or federal law requires a number be provided, then your person can ask for it and also have it,” says Picraux, “however in the future, when you go to your doctor’s office, plus they require your Social Security number, you don’t need 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 charge card number on any receipt. “And 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 loss of $18,000 each.
And cleanup – if it can be achieved – is expensive and time consuming. According to Frank Abagnale – the clever crook-turned-crime-consultant whose life was recently chronicled in the movie, Catch Me If You Can — getting just your credit file scrubbed of identity theft may take an average of $1,173 and 175 man-hours. And since those man-hours probably won’t be consecutive, Abagnale notes that “it can be months or even years to regain financial health,” during which time obtaining a job, obtaining loans and housing, even writing checks for utility bills and groceries, can literally become a federal case.
In the event that you suspect or know you’ve been a victim of identity fraud, you can find steps to take and no time to waste. But prevention is cheaper, easier, and much more satisfying than cleanup.
Don’t minimize your individual risk. People you do not know and can probably never meet are actively searching for credit card receipts in public trash cans; and “dumpster divers” specialize in going right through household and business trash. They can fill out a change of address form with the post office to divert your mail to some other location while they spend on your bank cards. They look for your organization or personnel records at work. They can rob your home or use special software on your own present – and discarded – computers. They are able to get your credit report by pretending to be a landlord or employer. They can get your birth certificate by posing as a lawyer, and create a new identity together with your name. They are able to buy personal information from dishonest employees of companies that have a right to your details; or buy your personal information from any number of online sites that sell detailed factual statements about you. They can counterfeit your checks or debit cards and drain your bank accounts. They can setup new bank accounts and mobile phones in your name.
And then they are able to even file for bankruptcy 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 so that you can assist you to keep your good name good as well as your private information private. One thing each of them emphasize: Be proactive, and assume that somebody wants your private information. The best, cheapest way to protect yourself is by using a shredder (Abagnale advises a crosscut shredder) on every single piece of mail you don’t plan to keep. Tear covers off catalogs and shred the covers, along with any other piece of mail which has your name, address, account numbers or any information. In particular, shred every charge card application you receive , nor apply for; and when you cut up expired credit cards, usually do not throw all of the pieces away concurrently or in the same place.
An easy way to keep in mind the basics of protecting yourself has been the acronym, SCARS: Sharing, Credit, Access, Recognition and SS#.
S is for Sharing: that is what happens if you are on any sort of email list. The fewer you’re on, the better your individual information is. How exactly to stay off them:
Contact every lender where you conduct business and tell them that you do not want them to share any information regarding you without your written permission.
Check the boxes on any application form you complete, specifying that your information isn’t to be disseminated.
Get your name off e-mail 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 contact number off call lists by writing the Telephone 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 cost: is that discount worth it?
Think before entering any contests. The information -your name, address, phone number – is nearly certain to be sold to marketers. Don’t believe it? Enter a contest with a misspelling of one’s first name or add 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 tips for protecting your credit rating:
Check your credit report 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 on time, call the company to discover why – and also 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 own credit card, bank and phone accounts. Choose a combination of letters and numbers that can not be guessed, and store any records of the passwords securely.
Subscribe to a service, such as Privacy Guard, that provides you with the contact information of every company that accesses your credit file. Abagnale uses this type of service, saying, “I consider their annual fee money well spent.”
Cancel all unsolicited “pre-approved” bank cards.
When renewing bank cards, bank cards, and telephone cards, always request the security code immediately.
“Don’t be surprised if you receive an unexpected call from a credit card company asking about an unusual purchase or group of purchases, in case you haven’t lost your card,” advises Picraux. “The business is just doing its job of protecting its customers. But don’t hand out any information should they don’t curently have your account number – the best caller will already have that information.”
Never pay “up-front” for a loan or credit. The FTC warns, “Understand that legitimate lenders never ‘guarantee’ financing or charge card before you apply, particularly if you have bad credit, no credit, or a bankruptcy.”
Carefully look over credit card debt before paying them, and personally reconcile your personal bank statements promptly upon receiving them.
brians club is for Access: and anyone-friend, foe, family, or stranger – who has usage of all of your personal documents has you at their mercy.
Take every credit card and almost every other ID card in your wallet and create a photocopy of front and back (spread several from the machine and do them at once.) Keep in a locked, secure place in your home or safe deposit box. Furthermore, do not carry any credit cards or ID cards with you that you don’t absolutely need – and never 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 at home that blank checks, bank statements, account information and other data aren’t accessible to guests, domestic help, tradesmen and repair persons, among others. Consider investing in a lockbox with a tamper-proof lock for such documents.
Scrutinize your personal 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 which are “must see.”
Never mail your bill payments or checks from home. “They could be stolen from your mailbox and washed clean in chemicals,” says Abagnale. “Take them to the postoffice.”
R is for Recognize: Watch out for anyone unknown for you who approaches you to sell (or “give”!) you something, or who would like 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 on the phone you do not initiate, and then only to companies you know and trust. Say, “Take me off your call list” to any telemarketer you do not want to hear from again..
Know who you’re coping with. “Walk away from any company that doesn’t clearly state its name, physical address, and phone number,” advises the FTC. “A Web site alone or a mail drop box should raise suspicions.”
If you buy online, be certain the website is secure by reading its privacy statements before purchasing or giving private information. Use firewall software, especially if you use high-speed Internet services. Update virus protection software religiously.
To complete the word SCARS, listed below are specific tips to keep your Social Security number (S) from the wrong hands:
When asked for the Social Security number, ask questions. Say, “Why do you want that number? What happens easily don’t give it for you? Can you 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 file be shredded before your eyes or returned to you once a choice has been made.” Abagnale says a lender or retail manager needs to retain only your name and credit history to justify a choice 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 know how to sign your checks and could not know when you are female or male,” advises Picraux.
Order your Social Security Earnings and Benefits Statement one per year to check on for fraud. The Social Security fraud hotline is (800) 269-0271.
And finally, the X-Files warning is appropriate: trust no one. Although most identity theft occurs whenever a stranger steals your individual information, you can lose as much or even more just from friends or family who have usage of 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 achieving this for 25 years,” says Abagnale, “and it’s really never the individual who’s worked for you for half a year that rips you off for $25,000. It certainly is the long-trusted employee.”