Overcoming identity theft

Two years ago, as a new student at Missouri State University, she got a surprising phone call from a teller at her bank.

The teller wanted to know if LeMoyne had recently written a $250 check for home repairs. She hadn’t. But someone was at the bank, trying to cash such a check, and while the teller advised LeMoyne to get to the bank immediately, the perpetrator left before she got there. The teller did, however, get his driver’s license.

LeMoyne, who is now human resources coordinator for KY3 TV, said that as far as she knows, he has yet to be apprehended, though the police have been close on several occasions.

LeMoyne is one of millions of Americans that have been victims of identity theft, which can come in one of five major categories: theft of driver’s license information, Social Security information, medical information, criminal background and financial information.

Chris Whitley, director of corporate communications for CoxHealth, was the victim of identity theft once – almost twice – ironically, when he was employed by the federal government.

The theft involved a government credit card number being stolen from a Washington, D.C., hotel where Whitley was a guest.

No damage was done in that case – the theft was found when someone tried to order several hundred dollars’ worth of Elizabeth Arden cosmetics from a Marshall Fields department store in Chicago, which Whitley jokingly said “wasn’t his brand.”

In another case, the thief was less sophisticated, but potential more damaging to Whitley’s identity. His briefcase, which contained his credit cards, Social Security card, checkbook and pass codes to his office building, was stolen from the trunk of his car.

The thief, it turned out, was a vagrant who had broken into the car, stolen some postage stamps and thrown the rest of the contents into a nearby Dumpster. Just to be on the safe side, Whitley canceled the credit cards and closed the checking account, though no harm has ever come of the incident.

Where to hit back?

Springfield attorney Curt Gaddis, the senior regional vice president for Pre-Paid Legal Services in southern Missouri, said it’s a matter of when – not if – people will be victimized by identity theft.

Gaddis said that the numerous ways people can be victimized – including ways that don’t even involve the individual – often make figuring out the source of the theft nearly impossible, and leave victims unsure of how to react.

“It’s like walking through a dark room and somebody punches you – you don’t know where to hit back,” he said.

Through Pre-Paid Legal Services, Gaddis offers Identity Theft Shield, a program that provides continuous credit monitoring, legal counsel in case of identity theft and help with identity restoration.

The list of victims is growing rapidly – Gaddis said about one in four people have been targets at some point – and the consequence can be life-shattering for victims. According to the Federal Trade Commission, a victim of identity theft will spend an average of $1,800 to resolve problems associated with the crime, above and beyond the amount of money actually stolen.

Not just a people problem

Identity theft doesn’t just affect individuals.

Gaddis said companies should be just as worried about the issue. He points to federal regulations such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, which requires companies to follow stricter rules regarding the nonpublic information of their customers and clients. The penalties for not following the rules are severe – up to $1 million in fines, 10 years in jail and possible removal of company management if company officials are found to be willingly in violation of the law without a plan for information protection.

Financial institutions face especially tough regulations – regulations that John Cox, vice president in charge of retail banking for Commerce Bank, said are absolutely necessary.

“We have internal controls where we evaluate potential fraudulent items and we have confidential internal security procedures to look at activity to see if there’s something that’s not normal – and that applies to credit cards and banking,” Cox said.

“If we see something that doesn’t look normal, we make every effort to contact the customer and make sure it’s a valid item,” he added.

Minimizing the risk

While it may be impossible to ensure 100 percent safety from potential identity theft, there are certain ways to reduce the risk.

Individuals should check their bank accounts regularly and double-check their monthly bank statements to make sure no unusual transactions have been made. Free credit reports from each of the three credit bureaus – Trans Union, Experian and Equifax – are available once a year, and individuals should monitor their credit reports as often as possible.

Former victim LeMoyne said no one is sure how her identity was stolen, but the best guess is that someone went Dumpster-diving and found something that she didn’t dispose of appropriately. Now, she’s extra careful not to take any chances with her personal information.

“I have a shred box at home, and I’ll either take it to work and shred it or take it to the bank. If I need to pay a bill and I can do it here in town, I do,” she said. “I’m also much more aware of everything I have in my purse.”

Whitley, too, has learned a lesson the hard way.

“I would recommend to everyone to get a list of every organization you maintain credit with,” he said. “Have your account number and a customer service phone number for the company, and take that list and put it someplace safe, so that in a moment’s notice you can start calling and getting accounts shut off. At a time when you have so many loose ends to run down, you don’t need to begin that process with a scavenger hunt for all that information – time is of the essence.”

How do you protect yourself?

• Shred all personal information before discarding – the most common method of ID theft, despite new technology, is still Dumpster-diving.

• Install, update and run virus protection software frequently on computers.

• Don’t use predictable computer passwords, such as your birthday or pet’s name.

• Check credit card and bank statements every month for unauthorized transactions.

• If your wallet or Social Security number has been lost or stolen, put fraud alerts on credit reports immediately.

• Don’t give identifying information over the phone unless you initiated the conversation.

Have you been an identity–theft victim?

The Federal Trade Commission says that 25 percent of people who have had their credit ratings damaged by identity theft – through people opening new credit cards or loans in their names – took six months or more to realize they had been victimized.

Here are some warning signs:

• You’re denied credit even though you’re certain you should qualify.

• You receive notice of approval or denial of credit you never applied for.

• Credit card or bank statements include charges for items you never bought.

• Collection agencies call or write to collect for accounts you never opened.

• Your home has been burglarized.

• Long-distance phone calls you didn’t make show up on your phone bill.