Indentify Theft Slide Show
- 1. Indentify Theft Protecting Your Greatest Asset
- 2. What Is ID Theft? Identity Theft occurs when someone knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of Federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable State or local law.
- 3. What is ID Theft? In 1998, Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act making Identity Theft a federal crime. It's a felony with a 15-year maximum sentence. In 2004, President Bush signed the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act that guarantees a minimum of two years in prison for those who use identity theft to commit a crime, including terrorism.
- 4. California State Senator Debra Bowen notes that "Identity theft is one of the easiest, most risk-free crimes thieves can commit. They don't need a gun, a knife, or a getaway car. All they need is someone's Social Security number and a pen."
- 5. Identity Theft is the only crime committed in America today where you are presumed guilty until proven innocent.
- 6. Almost 15 million Americans become victims of identity theft each year
- 7. “ The average identity theft victim spends more than $1200 in the quest to clear his/her name.” -Federal Trade Commission
- 8. Identity Theft victims spend on average 150 hours to clear their good name.
- 9. Five Areas of Identity Theft Financial Identity Medical Identity Driver’s License Identity Social Security Identity Character or Criminal Identity
- 10. Financial Identity Fraud Consumers reported fraud losses of over $1.2 billion in 2007.
- 11. Medical Identity Fraud The fastest growing area of ID Theft.
- 12. TERMS you should know: FTC – Federal Trade Commission FCRA – Fair Credit Reporting Act FACTA – Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act FDCPA – Fair Debt Collections Practices Act SSN – Social Security Number CRAs – Credit Reporting Agencies Fraud Alert – Federal law instructs credit issuers to contact you prior to approving an application. Security or Credit Freeze – With a freeze, a company may not look at your credit report for the purposes of establishing new lines of credit. Passwords – Use an unusual or made-up word such as “banapple.”
- 13. Three Major Credit Reporting Agencies Equifax Experian TransUnion
- 14. Are You At Risk? Do you expose your social security number? Are you careless with your mail? Do you secure sensitive information? Do you check your credit reports yearly? Do you scrutinize your bills and bank statements? Do you enter sensitive information on public computers? Do you hand your credit card to servers at restaurants? Can you be sure that data security is good at companies that have your information? Have you signed up for an Identity Theft Protection Service?
- 15. We Can Help! Continuous Monitoring and Full Service Restoration through Kroll Background America.
- 16. Who is Kroll? World leader in security and fraud protection.
- 17. Call Robin Gray 224-588-7850 For protection starting today!
Editor's Notes
- #10: Social Security Identity – employment, government and documents fraud Financial – credit card, bank and loan
- #13: Companies you already have an existing relationship with (example: a credit card, loan or utility service) may view your reports but only to review your credit-worthiness. Placing a freeze is a strong step to take and will affect your ability to get instant credit since it can take up to 3 days to thaw a report. However, it also locks out thieves, and that is the purpose. In those states with freezes, most laws state that victims with a police report get this service FTC – Government agency that oversees ID Theft. However, it is not widely enforced and not 100% reliable. ITRC has found fraud alerts to be about 65-70% effective. for free. Some states also allow the consumer to buy a freeze. You may thaw your freeze anytime you wish to apply for credit but you will need to plan ahead. See Fact Sheet 124 for more information or our State & Local Resources to see if your state has a freeze program.
- #14: Equifax is the only agency that is tied into the US postal Inspector office
- #15: SSN - Your social security number is the pot of gold for your identity thief. You make it easy for him by: Carrying your SSN in your wallet/purse. Writing it on checks. Writing it on forms just because the blank line is there. Letting your university or workplace use it as an ID. Your thief loves your mail and you provide easy access for him. You have an unlockable mailbox and raise the red flag to let your thief know you're ready to share. You don't notice when there is unusual break in mail service. You mail your sensitive information in your local mailbox instead of taking it to the post office. You forget to submit a change of address when you move. You still receive pre-approved credit card offers because you have not opted out at 1-888-5OPTOUT or www.optoutprescreen.com . Many times the identity thief knows their victims and has easy access to sensitive data. Visitors to your home are likely to see sensitive mail, forms, etc laying out in open view. You keep your tax returns and financial spreadsheets on your computer without password protection. You leave pay stubs and other interesting information in the front seat of your car. You don't own a cross-cut shredder. You put sensitive data in your garbage. Monitoring your credit report is your best opportunity to detect identity theft. You don't order your free annual credit reports. You don't thoroughly review all credit report entries. You don't try to correct false entries and convince yourself that it's probably just a typo. Many people use their credit cards for daily purchases. Thieves may charge small amounts hoping you don't notice. You don't verify every entry on your credit card and bank statements. You don't realize when your statement doesn't arrive on time. Public computers are convenient, but it's no place to enter sensitive information. You don't know who uses the computer before or after you. Who's watching your entries? You check your bank account balance. You logon to web sites and enter your passwords. You leave the auto-complete feature enabled so the next person has a possibility of reviewing your entries. You accept the "save my information for next time" prompts.