Identity Fraud and Identity Theft are fast becoming the most prevalent crimes in America. Criminals use a victim’s personal information to their benefit to commit crimes and not get caught. Typically a criminal will use a victim’s name, date of birth, and social security number to create false documents in the victim’s name or obtain loans, residential utilities, and even credit cards. Some criminals take it a step further by collecting banking account and routing information from the victim so that he/she can create fictitious checks.
Some of the ways criminals obtain person information are by phishing e-mails, spoofing phone calls, dumpster diving, computer hacking, and mail theft.
Tips to Prevent Identity Fraud
Ensure websites are secure prior to submitting any credit card information.
Never throw away credit card or bank statements; shred these items.
Be aware of missed bills which could indicate your account has been taken over or “hijacked.”
Never give credit card information over the telephone unless you made the call.
Review your credit history report at least once a year.
Phishing e-mails: A criminal sends a look-alike e-mail from a popular company (Chase Bank, eBay, PayPal, Bank of America) that states the victim’s account has been tampered with. The suspect then requests that the victim send back their username, password, name, date of birth, social security number, etc. so that the account can be updated and secured.
Spoofing phone calls: A criminal uses telephone spoofing software to disguise their telephone number as a business number or out of state number. The criminal then calls the victim and convinces the victim that their account has been tampered with. The criminal eventually tells the victim that some personal information is required to verify the person they are talking to is actually who they say they are. The victim then give the criminal their personal information such as their date of birth and social security number.
Dumpster diving: A criminal literally climbs into dumpsters and goes through trash looking for any type of documentation that has an individual’s personal information on it.
Computer hacking: Criminal people that are skilled in computer technology can use programs to hack into personal computers that are connected to the Internet. Some criminals might write software programs and attach the program(s) to an e-mail. When the victim opens the e-mail on their computer, the program(s) will obtain information from the victim’s computer and send the information back to the criminal. Other criminals might use a brute force attack to obtain and use a victim’s network password on the victim’s home computer network. Once a criminal gains access to a home computer network he/she may have full access to all connected computers.
Mail theft: A criminal may take a victim’s mail in order to retrieve personal information from pre-approved credit card and loan mailings. Mail allowed to accumulate while on vacation would also tell a criminal that no one is home for several days.