IDENTITY THEFT

WHAT IS IDENTITY THEFT? Identity theft refers to stealing someone else’s personal information in order to obtain credit or other benefits. These other benefits include, but are not limited to: Medical care Prescription drugs A clean credit score Insurance Government benefits – social security, Medicaid, etc… Child support Employment-related benefits Mortgage assistance Phone or utilities assistance Not being charged with a crime when apprehended by the police

MORE REASONS THAN ONE PEOPLE WANT YOUR IDENTITY

DIFFERENT TYPES OF IDENTITY THEFT Criminal Identity Theft – Posing as someone else when being apprehended for a crime. This type of identity theft wrongly incriminates the innocent whose identity was stolen and clears the identity thief. Financial Identity Theft – Stealing someone’s identity in order to secure credit or financial gain. Medical Identity Theft – Stealing someone’s identity in order to obtain medical care or prescription drugs. Synthetic Identity Theft – Stealing someone’s social security number but then using a different name or other piece of information to identify themselves. People sometimes refer to this as partial identity theft. Child Identity Theft – Stealing a child’s social security number. Identity cloning or concealment – Stealing someone’s identity in order to hide from creditors or the law.

STATISTICS There were 369,132 complaints of identity theft in the U.S. in 2012 according to the Federal Trade Commission From 2010 to 2012, 46.4% of identity theft resulted in government/benefits fraud In ,133 victims, or 6% of all identity theft victims, were 19 years of age or younger – victims over the age of 60 made up for 19% of identity theft victims There were more than 12 million identity fraud victims in 2012 Minnesota reported 24,488 complaints of identity theft, fraud or other consumer problems in 2012

HOW CAN WE STOP IDENTITY THEFT?

WAYS TO PREVENT IDENTITY THEFT Do not give out personal identifiers (social security number) on the phone or through a fax machine Do not offer your social security on the internet unless you are giving it to a known, secure source – only make purchases on websites you know to be secure Shred tax-related documents after you use them – if you file your taxes online, be sure to use a strong password Do not carry your social security card with you, only have it on you when you need it Keep your social security card in a safe place Create strong passwords on the internet, and don’t use the same one for all of your different accounts Make sure all of your credit cards have a PIN option if possible Don’t open suspicious or unsolicited s

MINNESOTA IDENTITY THEFT FREEZE LAW Identity theft freeze law allows anyone in Minnesota to put a “freeze” on their credit report. This prevents identity thieves from obtaining your credit history or opening new accounts in your name The option is free to identity theft victims and cost $5 for those who haven’t had their identity stolen There is an option to “thaw,” or temporarily allow certain companies to see your credit report with a PIN number given out by the credit company

WHAT STEPS SHOULD I TAKE IF MY IDENTITY IS STOLEN?

WAYS TO DEAL WITH IDENTITY THEFT Place a fraud alert Order your credit reports Create an identity theft report

WHAT IS A FRAUD ALERT? A fraud alert is an alert placed on your credit report that requires any creditor asked to extend your credit to contact you by phone before doing so

WHY ORDER YOUR CREDIT REPORTS? Ordering your credit reports allows you to see where your credit may have been used by the identity thief and allows you to contact these companies. It is best to contact them through (snail) mail and ask for return receipts. Doing this records your correspondence.

IDENTITY THEFT REPORT Allows you to remove fraudulent information from your credit report Stops companies from continuing to collect debt from you resulting from the theft Allows you to place an extended fraud alert on your credit report

THREE MAJOR NATIONAL CREDIT BUREAUS Equifax – Fraud Hotline: Experian – Fraud Hotline: TransUnion – Fraud Hotline:

CHILD IDENTITY THEFT Child Identity Theft

CHILD IDENTITY THEFT Identity thieves like targeting children because they have a clean credit score Parents also don’t check their children’s financial information regularly, making this crime harder to detect Because parents don’t suspect their child’s identity would be stolen, the crime can go undetected for years

HOW TO PREVENT CHILD IDENTITY THEFT Find a safe place for all of your child’s personal information. Don’t give out your child’s social security number or other personal information unless you have to. Ask the requesting party why they need it, how long they’ll have it, and whether or not anyone else will have access to it. Don’t carry your child’s personal information on your person unless you need to. Be sure to carefully look over forms your child brings home from school that ask for personal information. Ask if there is an option to opt out of disclosing this information.

PREVENTING CHILD ID THEFT CONT. Be sure your child is using his or her social media sites/cellphones carefully. Talk with him or her about what information should not be posted on the internet. Teach your child about creating strong passwords for the internet. Make sure you are monitoring the websites your child is frequenting. Make sure these websites are secure and don’t seem suspicious. Install anti-virus software on your computer.

SENIOR CITIZENS AND IDENTITY THEFT

ID thieves target senior citizens who have been saving money their entire life, often times taking advantage of their declining mental state Senior identities are also commonly stolen to obtain prescription drugs In a report compiling information from the past 8 years, the Identity Theft Assistance Center stated that 16% of the identity theft victims they assisted were 65 or older

SENIOR CITIZENS AND IDENTITY THEFT There are less people around to help seniors keep track of their bank statements, credit reports Don’t want to report identity theft because they think doing so will show that they are no longer able to handle their money According to the FTC, in % of identity theft victims were 60 or older

WAYS TO PREVENT SENIOR IDENTITY THEFT Keep personal information, bank statements, etc., in a safe place – only let trusted love ones handle your financial dealings Be suspicious of telemarketers who have financial deals that are “too good to be true” When ordering checks, pick them up at the bank rather than having them delivered to your house Never give out Medicare information over the phone or through Join the FTC’s National Do Not Call Registry

IDENTITY THEFT AND THE INTERNET

ID THEFT AND THE INTERNET 289,874 consumer complaints were processed by the Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2012, totaling $525,441,110 in losses. This is an 8.3% increase from With our information becoming almost completely digital, precautions need to be taken in regards to securing your identity online.

PHISHING “Phishing” refers to hackers sending s that request your personal information. These s are made to look like they’re from reputable sources (banks, online retailers, service providers etc.) and usually ask you to verify or update your information in order to obtain it for fraud. How to avoid phishing: Keep your antivirus software up to date – most antivirus programs evade these kinds of attacks Don’t answer unsolicited or suspicious s Don’t enter personal information into pop-up windows

SPYWARE Spyware monitors and records websites you visit and what passwords and other personal information you enter into those websites. How to prevent spyware attacks: Use a firewall Make sure your computer’s security is up to date Secure your web browser Install antispyware protection

SKIMMING Stealing credit card information by swiping it through a special machine How to avoid skimming attacks: Don’t let anyone who seems suspicious scan your credit card Make sure the scanning device doesn’t look suspicious – malicious scanning devices are usually missing labels or security seals Make sure you pay attention to who is scanning your credit card and when he or she is doing it

IDENTITY THEFT RESOURCE CENTER SOCIAL MEDIA SURVEY 446 respondents 35% of respondents had family or friends that had experienced a social media account takeover in the past 12% had already been victims of identity theft themselves 54% said they had been the target of identity theft online, while 70% had been asked to visit a scam website through a private, social media message 18% had their social media account accessed without permission According to a different study conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research, 7% of smartphone users were victims of identity theft, a 1/3 rd higher incidence rate compared to the general public

SOURCES Consumer Sentinel Network Report 2012 (FTC) Internet Crime Complaint Center Identity Theft Resource Center Federal Trade Comission MN Attorney General Identity Theft Assistance Center heftImpactSeniorCitizens.pdf

SOURCES CONT. Javelin Strategy and Research LifeLock SpamLaws