Identity Theft Resources
First, most people do not know their identity is stolen for 14 months, so you may think you are fine, and the first time you know your identity has been stolen is after being rejected for credit of some sort or worse, if a criminal has abused your criminal identity, your first warning may be an unexpected detainment from a routine traffic stop or the police showing up at your door with a warrant for your arrest. Next, you can do smart things, but it is not possible to prevent identity theft. But here are some terrific resources:
The Federal Trade Commission or FTC has been charged with maintaining statistics and providing the public with information. Their website is www.ftc.gov. They have a large number of fact sheets and information on identity theft. One resource they have is a 52 page publication called “Take Charge” that describes what to do if you’ve discovered your identity is stolen. The publication is free and available online or via the phone at (877) ID THEFT (438-4338).
We’ve all learned to do simple things as the world has changed, but let’s review a few of them: Drop off your mail rather than putting it in the mailbox (especially if you are paying bills). Never keep more in your wallet or purse than you need, and never carry your social security card. Shred your bill statements and those pesky pre-approved credit offers. Would you like to get fewer of those offers? You can opt out of those cards by calling (888) 567-8688 or go online to www.optoutscreen.com. Be wary of any incoming calls (or emails) soliciting your information. Some thieves may pose as your bank or a security company or even court house clerks saying you have a warranty because you missed jury duty or a well known store calling you and telling you that they have a customer appreciation program but to give you the item they need your information. They may be “pre-texting” and they are trying to get your information, not trying to help you.
Your information is in a number of places. You should also talk to the people who have your information about their security measures, like your bank and employer. Only work with people and companies you trust with your information. Also, you may want to close out credit cards you aren’t using, but closely monitor all of your open accounts. Remember, according to the Fair Credit Billing Act, you have a maximum of 60 days to dispute an inaccurate item in your accounts, and the dispute must be in writing. If you are not keeping up with your accounts you could be liable for all fraudulent charges.
Under FACTA, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, you have access to your credit report once a year from each bureau. These reports can be accessed via www.annualcreditreport.com. This is the official site, although there are many others with deceptively similar names that will charge you for the reports. Be aware that once you know your identity is stolen, most services and insurance policies will consider this a pre-existing condition. Also, checking your credit occasionally has been likened to using a smoke alarm in your house only on weekends. You may want a monitoring service to know about changes immediately.
One of the country’s leading experts in Identity theft, Mr. John Gardner Jr. says that to deal with identity theft you need a 3-legged stool to minimize the damages, including access to council (an attorney), monitoring service and identity restoration. Monitoring services can provide and early warning that something is wrong. By reading the “Take Charge” booklet from the FTC, you will understand why a restoration service can be valuable. According to their statistics it can take between 40 to 600 hours to restore your identity by yourself. Finally, since Financial Identity Theft accounts for less than 30% of all Identity Theft, access to council becomes very valuable in the event your driver’s license identity, medical identity, social security identity or criminal identity is stolen.
If you are one of those who have discovered your identity has been stolen, don’t lose faith. Your recovery will be a marathon not a sprint.
Who Are You? Introduction to the Data-Based You
If I asked people who know you well what you are like, what would they say? Would they say, “they’re a good and responsible person”, or “they’re a good Christian and they can be trusted”? Hopefully, the way you live your life would result in these kinds of comments.
If they were you dear friends of yours, would they be able to describe for me every job you have had, where I might find you on a Saturday night, what you eat, and who you talk with on the phone? How about how much you have your credit cards, what you watch on TV, and everywhere you have lived? Would they be able to tell me where you were born, you’re entire medical history, how fast you drive, and how you have used your insurance policies? Could they describe your military and criminal background, which your neighbors are and details about your internet activity?
The information age has made readily available huge amounts of information that was previously not possible to track. All of the above information and more is now readily available: meet the “databased” you. The “databased” you, however, may be corrupted.
Our personal data is collected, stored, reorganized, and sold to just about anyone, from private investigators, to markers of nearly anything, to the government, and it is also stolen.
How does my information end up on all these databases? It becomes available then it is sold. Have you read the “privacy notices” that come in the mail with various financial statements? What these notices are usually saying, in legalese of course, is that they or someone associated with them will sell your information to any number of companies, called data aggregators who then sell it again and again. Nearly every electronic transaction you make it collected. Have you ever completed a survey? Nearly all government records are now electronic. Your cell phone and your car track you. There was a recent case where a rapist was found via his cell phone. Law enforcement obtained the cell phone records for a specific location at a specific time, a good use of the “databased” criminal.
Today with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) chips we are walking, “talking’ databases. What is an RFID? These are very small chips that send out a radio frequency with certain data, found in any number of retail items and various identification cards (like credit cards). With an RFID reader the data is transferred. Does your pet have an ID chip? That’s one application. Another is a criminal with an RFID reader can steal your information without you even noticing.
Many would argue we have lost our privacy. Others would say if you’re not doing anything wrong and you’ve given consent (sometimes by NOT doing something), there shouldn’t be a problem. The problem is that the “databased” you can easily be corrupted. Incorrect data input as well as identity theft has given rise to database corruption.
Companies and the government can buy data, or it can be stolen. Last year alone, the personal data of more than 50 million people was “lost” in various “security breaches.” That’s 1 in 3 Americans. Unfortunately no matter how careful you are with your data, you can no longer control who sees it, or how accurate it is.
Why do identity criminals want our data? Various reasons, mainly crime and fraud. Identity theft is simpler, easier and less harshly punished than other crimes. If caught in a crime why would a criminal provide their real identity?
With your main credit database, you have the ability to look at your data and there are means to correct errors. For most other databases, you have limited or no access to your own data and no means to correct errors. For example, governmental, criminal and medical databases are nearly impossible to correct unless you involve an attorney and in some cases that will take a long time to correct.
Can I protect myself from the “databased” me? Not completely, but education is a good start.
Victims spend an average of $1500 to restore their name.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
“People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years - and thousands of dollars - cleaning up the mess the thieves have made of their good name and credit record.”
When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name, September 2002
- Do you hand your credit card to servers at restaurants?
- Do you sign your credit cards?
- Do you supply personal information over the internet?
- Do you keep your Social Security number in your wallet or purse?
- Do you leave mail at your home or business for the postal carrier to collect?
- Do you shred unwanted mail with personal information?
- Do other people ever run your credit report?
- Can you be sure data security is good at companies that have your information?
Identity Theft – what’s out there to protect me?
With the huge increase in identity theft, a number of services have sprung up to help people. First and foremost, beware of ANY service that says it will prevent identity theft. No one can prevent identity theft. Each of your 5 main identities, your driver’s license, social security, medical, criminal and financial identities can be subject to theft. Also remember, financial identity theft accounts for less than 30% of all identity theft.
Most identity theft services can be categorized as follows: single account protection, reimbursement, monitoring, resolution and restoration services.
Single account protection includes the offers from individual credit cards. They usually protect only the card issuer and do not address the other 70% of the problem and usually do not cover multiple accounts. They may sound inexpensive but at a few dollars a month, you get very little protected.
Reimbursement services can sound attractive, some offering between $25,000 and a million dollars. However here’s the catch: they are reimbursement services. You pay in advance so that you can pay in advance and depend on a policy to pay you back the money. If you do not have a large cash reserve, this can present a problem. You also need to read the fine print and know what costs the service will reimburse you for. You also need to know if an insurance underwriter needs to approve your expenses. The time to find out is before the service is needed, not after you’ve already spent the money. Another tricky cost is your time. Many services do not consider the time it takes for you to resolve the identity theft, an average of about 600 hours.
Monitoring services are helpful, kind of like having a fire alarm. They tell you’ve had a theft, which is good to know sooner rather than later, but do not fix the problem.
Resolution services claim to provide you with a solution once your identity has been stolen. What many do is provide you with a “restoration kit” that you can download from the Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheft for free. They typically offer an 800 number you can call to ask for advice, but essentially you are given paperwork and left to do the work yourself. You can skim through the 46 page booklet and see for yourself the challenge of doing this on your own.
Restoration services, usually in combination with monitoring services should provide experienced licensed agents and professionals to take on the challenge of restoring your identity. Look for a service that has you sign a limited power of attorney to act on your behalf. If you don’t have to sign a limited power of attorney, it means you personally will have to be intimately involved in the, on average, 600 hour restoration process.
One thing that none of these services can do is prevent your identity from theft, and none of them can cover your entire identity. What would you do if your good character was stolen by a criminal, the second most common form of identity theft, and during a routine traffic stop, you discover that there are outstanding warrants for your arrest? Macolm Byrd, from Rock County Wisconsin has had that very thing happen to him time and time again because someone gave his identity when facing drug charges. Leading identity theft expert John Gardner warns, “Don’t call Citibank.”
What if someone steals your medical identity gets treatment or surgery and leaves you with used up insurance and medical bills? In the case of the illegal immigrants working for the Swift Company, the real owners of those social security numbers may have a surprise when their tax bill comes due. One lady in Chicago went to Target and was refused because denied employment because she already worked there. She checked with social security and found out she worked 37 other places as well. What do you tell the police officer who stops you and discovers your license is suspended?
This leads to another weapon you need to defend your identity: access to legal counsel. You will need an attorney to deal with the legal implications of identity theft.
Identity theft has been compared to computer hacking, in fact many identity thieves use hacking to obtain identities, so even if you are “careful” with your personal information, hackers can access it through the organizations that have your information, including everyone from schools to businesses to the government. Like with computers, where 10 years ago very few people had heard of viruses, spyware, phising, pharming etc. Identity theft is a changing crime. The good guys find a way to stop the bad guys, the bad guys change tactics. And like the suite of evolving services we have to protect our computers, you need a service that offers a broad range of services, including but not limited to monitoring, true restoration and access to council.
So what can you do? John Gardner, one of the nation’s leading experts in identity theft, says you need a 3 legged stool to minimize the damages so you can pursue your purpose. The 3 legged stool includes access to council (attorneys), monitoring service and identity restoration. If you have a service or policy, find out exactly what it does and does not cover. Get a service or policy that you are comfortable with, then don’t worry. Pursue God’s purpose for your life.
Clayton Biewer is a Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialists (CITRMS) interested in educating consumers and businesses about identity theft, their risks and how to minimize the impact when it does happen. I am an independent associate with Pre-Paid Legal Services which offers legal plans and the Identity Theft Shield. I am located in Northeastern Wisconsin, and personally service, Green Bay, Oshkosh, Appleton, Fond du Lac, Milwaukee and surrounding communities, and on occasion help individuals across the United States. Personal Service is very important to me and my friends and clients. Please feel free to contact me when you would like to learn more about how to prevent Identity Theft. More information is available!
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Contact Biewer & Associates
Independent Associates - Pre-Paid Legal, Inc.
Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialists TM
Phone: 920.924.9928
Fax: 888.539.5962
Email: biewer@biewerassociates.com
Or contact us by mail:
Biewer & Associates
N5211 County Rd. Y
Oakfield, WI 53065
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