Identity theft scams target consumers
By Ben Holman
Nevada Daily Mail
Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America, according to the Nevada Police Department. The crime affects half-a-million new victims each year and Missouri ranked 17th among the states for reported instances of identity theft.
Around the holiday season, when people are doing more purchasing than any other time of the year, identity thieves are typically at their most active. With the large crowds in stores and increased traffic on internet shopping sites, criminals see the holidays as an opportune time to steal identities.
Nevada Police Chief Christine Keim, the National Crime Prevention Council and the Federal Trade Commission all offer tips for individuals to help protect themselves from identity theft.
According to the Nevada Police Department, identity theft is the taking of a victim's identity to obtain credit and credit cards from banks, steal money from a victim's existing accounts with utility companies, rent an apartment, file bankruptcy, or obtain a job using the victim's name.
Thousands of dollars can be stolen without the victim's even knowing that anything is wrong.
The criminal will steal the victim's social security number, bank account numbers, personal identification numbers and other personal information which they can use to assume the victim's identity.
Information is obtained through impersonation of officials, mail theft, rooting through garbage and other methods. The newest trick for thieves is to use camera phones to snap pictures of personal information while their victims are in line at the store, the bank or the ATM.
In order to prevent identity theft, do not give out personal information over the phone, through the mail or over the internet.
Victims have been known to receive official looking e-mails from online services that they subscribe to saying that they need information to update their records.
Never respond to one of these e-mails or follow links in them. If you receive an e-mail from a service you believe to be an attempt at identity theft, contact the service directly, do not use links within the message, and ask them if they sent anything out -- usually they will say no and then send out legitimate e-mails to let other customers know that the e-mail is a fake.
All documents with personal information should be shredded before discarding.
Bank statements, pre-approved credit card offers, bills and other documents should not be placed in the trash without first being shredded or torn up.
Do not use family names, birth dates or social security numbers for passwords for anything.
Do not use your social security number on your driver's license, ask for an alternative number when renewing your license.
Pay attention to your credit card and bank statements and report suspicious charges immediately. never use your credit card to make purchases over the internet unless the site is secure -- most sites will inform the visitor that the information is encrypted.
If the site does not encrypt credit card information, look for an alternative method of purchase.
If you think you have been the victim of identity theft, the FTC recommends that you:
* Contact the fraud departments of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file. The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts.
As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other credit bureaus will be notified and credit reports will be sent to you.
* Close accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
* File a police report -- a police report is evidence should any creditor require proof of the crime.
* File a complaint with the FTC. The FTC keeps a database of identity theft cases used for investigations.
Identity theft is a serious crime which can destroy credit and wipe out bank accounts.
For more information about identity theft visit the FTC Web site at www.consumer.gov/
idtheft or the National Crime Prevention Council Web site at www.npc.org.
The Nevada Police Department also offers a pamphlet on identity theft.