id theft fraud prevention

Jenny DeRaspe-Bolles asked:


Because identity theft is both lucrative and easy to get away with, ID theft rings are growing and fast in crime circles from meth addicts to mafia. Consequently, there has been an overwhelming corporate response to meet increased demand for identity theft protection.

You have probably heard of LifeLock, an Identity Theft Protection company that has been in the news quite a bit lately. In a ballsy move, the company’s CEO Todd Davis has published his Social Security number (475-55-5462) prominently and dared anyone to try to steal his identity. Actions speak louder than words, and his certainly show confidence in the protection his company offers. One of the fastest growing companies in the US, Davis must have instilled confidence in his customers with inventive marketing strategy, gaining over 1,000,000 customers last year alone.

So what exactly is it and what do they do? Should you join? We’ve gathered some information about the company and the protection they offer here:

What is it and how does it work?

The system places fraud alerts at all three credit bureaus and essentially makes these alerts permanent. What is a fraud alert? In 2003 Congress passed the Fair & Accurate Credit Transactions Act (or FACTA), which forces credit bureaus to allow you to put a fraud alert on their credit reports, requiring lenders to verify your identity before issuing a card in your name. This alert is temporary, expiring after 90 days, but LifeLock essentially makes these alerts permanent by renewing them before they expire. In effect, if someone gained your personal information and attempted to open a fraudulent credit card in your name, the credit bureaus would have to speak with you to verify your identity before processing the application.

1- opts customers out of preapproved credit offers and junkmail lists, a known source of identity fraud.

2- orders your credit report from all three bureaus, which is automatically delivered to you every year.

3- True Address monitors the National Address Database and alerts you if a criminal has changed your address to receive your mail or obtain your personal information.

4- Lifelock’s Erecon monitors hacker and criminal websites for your credit card numbers and personal information, and lets you know if anyone is attempting to steal them. LifeLock will assist you in replacing your account numbers in the case your privacy has been compromised.

5- offers a $1,000,000 Total Service Guarantee. For legal reasons, LifeLock does not call this insurance. In effect, they pledge to cover your costs (i.e. reimburse financial loss, legal fees to restore credit, etc.) in the event that your identity is stolen up to the amount of one million dollars. Note, this does not cover someone stealing your credit card and using it (which rarely costs you anyway, as this is the bank’s domain). It also only covers new cases of identity theft, existing identity theft victims will not be covered. From their website:

“If your identity is stolen while you are our client, we’re going to do whatever it takes to recover your good name. If you need lawyers, we’re going to hire the best we can find. If you need investigators, accountants, case managers, whatever, they’re yours. If you lose money as a result of the theft, we’re going to give it back to you. We will do whatever it takes to help you recover your good name and we will spend up to $1,000,000 to do it.”

Other LifeLock Features:

* Identity theft protection for children (until age 15) for $25 a year

* LifeLock Customer Service is available 24 hrs 7 days a week

In summary: this is proactive rather than reactive, stopping identity theft before it happens. Security expert Bruce Schneier maintains, In reality, forcing lenders to verify identity before issuing credit is exactly the sort of thing we need to fight identity theft. Making information harder to steal can be quite difficult, you can be very smart and safe and still have your purse stolen, for example. A better solution may lie in making stolen information more difficult to use, and this is the approach LifeLock uses.

How much does it cost?

Protection costs $10 per month or you pay for a year in advance for $110 a year. In addition, various websites offer promotional codes and coupons, advertising yearly protection for $99.

Is it worth it?

It is important to know that almost all of the protection LifeLock offers (fraud alerts, credit reports, etc.) you can do yourself for free. In this regard, they are a service company, saving you the time and hassle of taking these precautions yourself. Here is the information you need to protect yourself (for free):

1. Put a fraud alert on your account. All you have to do is contact (by phone or online) one of the three major credit bureaus and request a fraud alert. No need to contact all three, as they are required to communicate fraud alerts with each other. Remember to renew the fraud alert every 90 days. Fraud Alert Contact Information:

* Equifax

* Experian

* TransUnion

2. Opt out of credit card offers and junk mail.

3. Get your free annual credit report.

In addition to these measures (whether you pay for them or do them yourself), there are other precautions you should take to protect yourself against identity theft.

* Lock your mailbox with a secure locking mailbox.

* Switch from paper bills to electronic bills.

* Shred confidential mail with a cross-cut paper shredder.

* Do not carry paper checks or your social security card on you when possible.



Elizabeth

Chintamani asked:


People develop illusions on many things in their life.  Some are harmless, but some may prove very costly. ID theft is a widely discussed subject these days.  If you have some illusions about it, please get them clarified as soon as possible. Your small neglect may cost you a fortune.

People have following illusions about ID theft –

Online shopping with credit card is more dangerous than using the card in the restaurant – This is a misconception. When it comes to ID theft, using your card in restaurants is far more dangerous than using online. Online shopping these days has been made safer by many programs developed by software companies.  However in a restaurant when you hand over your credit card to a waiter for payment processing, he may take it away from you for a while.  While he processing it for payment, he may swipe your card in a skimmer in his pocket.  In this manner he can capture all your credit card details and send them to an identity thief who will act swiftly to take away as much as he can. Checking bank balances online is more dangerous than receiving paper copies by mail – This is another misconception.  Paper mail plays a big part in identity theft.  It can be stolen from your mailbox or it can be rerouted to another address without your knowledge.  It is always advisable to opt out of paper statements.  Whenever you want a copy for tax purposes or otherwise, you can always take a printout from the online statements. If a representative from your bank calls you and you can confirm his number on your caller ID, it is safe to provide your information – identity thieves are much more innovative than you think of.  It is easily possible to manipulate caller ID screens.  Also, it is never advisable to verify your personal details on the phone. Banks never ask you to verify them in the first place. Once you check your credit report annually, you need not do anything else to prevent identity theft – Checking your credit report is a good step in monitoring your financial information.  However, you will not do anything thereafter for 11 months!  In addition to this precaution, you should always check your bank statements and credit card statements regularly to find out anything abnormal or irregular. ID theft is done by people who are experts in internet technologies – This is also another illusion. There are all kinds ID thieves around.  They will use basic and simple tactics which you might not have dreamt of.  They can check your garbage bin for letters which you throw away.  Paper trails are more dangerous than electronic trails.  So you up need to take some basic precautions like shredding your papers before throwing them. Also, lock your mailbox.

Identity theft is the fastest growing and most notorious crime.  An attack on your personal details by methods which you would not have even dreamt of can destroy your life.  You need to educate yourself more about protecting your personal information and should not make any assumptions about your safety



Tina

Michael Brewer asked:


It all started with credit cards.

Remembering your PIN number in the check-out line was that industry’s Hail Mary Pass to cut losses from fraudulent purchases back in the mid-80s. Fingerprint and retinal scans were developed by the FBI about the same time to keep us out of secure areas and to keep our prying eyes off top-secret documents.

Now, fast forward about 20 or so years. Throw in a dismal economy, mix in thousands of suddenly uninsured Americans and you’ve got the makings of an apparently unforeseen black hole of security that could threaten the future of affordable healthcare and the efforts of Congress to reform it.

A woman in New York City faces up to seven years in prison on charges she recently forged more than 50 insurance claims that submitted them to her health insurance company for reimbursement. Meanwhile in Miami, a medical clinic for senior patients was raided after investigators discovered a front desk clerk sharing 1,100 Medicare IDs and patient information with her family members. One of her cousins allegedly made off with $2.8 million in fraudulent refunds for services never rendered.

“As more people are not getting the health care they need, we’re seeing an increasing incidence of medical identity fraud,” tells Michigan-based attorney Norbert Kugele to the New York Times. “Someone will show up at a hospital with someone else’s insurance information and will seek treatment under their name.”

Pulling a Fast One

It’s almost like the industry never saw it coming. Of course, Medicare fraud has been going on for years and the Feds have been battling it with great intensity, by their own admission, with mixed success. But security experts warn high profile health insurance fraud cases are only going to grow and there may be no end to creative tactics the perpetrators may use to bilk an already handicapped health system.

President Obama claims the healthcare reform bill being considered by Congress will provide a safety net to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining health care under the “Public Option.” Just how this will happen is anybody’s guess. Many citizens who relocated to America without proper documentation have been receiving public benefits and/or employment opportunities for years without much scrutiny by business owners or infiltration by state and local governments — so much so that the Feds figure in fraud when making all kinds of budgetary projections to Congress.

Medical identity theft occurs when criminals obtain information such as a health insurance identification or Social Security number and use it to get health care or to obtain reimbursement from insurers and others for false claims. That means your medical history and health care records can include someone else’s information.

Aside from the obvious health concerns that go along with adopting someone else’s health profile, — imagine an ID thief at the doctor’s office, presenting a health insurance ID from a patient who, unbeknownst to the thief, is diabetic, allergic to certain medication or receiving chemotherapy — there are other huge expenses that could undercut any savings that the Obama administration projects would be saved by reform in its current form.

“Hospitals and insurance companies face enormous expenses when it comes to medical identity theft, as they are forced to write-off charges incurred by the thieves,” recently wrote Bankrate reporter Amy Crane. “But its victims find that the financial aspects of this type of identity theft are the easiest to deal with.”

What You Can Do

-  Your insurance card, your life. Security experts think we too often assume that our insurance card is no more valuable than our frequent shopper card or our gym membership. Protect your insurance information as you would your credit card, driver license or other personal asset.

 -  Give your medical records a check-up. Audit your health insurance and medical records annually, as you would your personal credit report. It’s not only o.k. to ask your doctor for your medical records, it’s protected under federal law to do so. If you see anything that look suspicious, call your insurance company right away.

 -  Go paperless. Not only is it environmentally friendly, opting into paperless health insurance benefit and billing statements is a good way to prevent your personal health information from slipping into the wrong hands.

 

 

 

 

 



Jeanette

Lionheart Assurance Solutions asked:


Putting measures into place to avoid an identity theft scam at your business probably does not cross your mind very much, if at all, especially if you consider your business to be a quote-unquote small business; however, complaint boards all over the Internet are packed full of complaints related to identity theft and fraud. If you think crooks only target individuals or large corporations, then think again. In reality, even small businesses can be the target of identity fraud. People can use your business identity or secure your list of customers in order to rip off the public or perform other criminal activities both online and offline. Here are some ways in which you can protect your business and your customers from such scams, frauds and ripoffs.

Getting to know how criminals operate is a good way on how to avoid identity theft fraud at your business. Although the most publicized cases of corporate identity thefts being reported are about crooks stealing customer information from the database of large companies, hacking is not the only threat to your business. In fact, cheating and getting access from inside your system is also a big headache. Some online scam artists will try to rip off your customers by pretending to be representatives of your company or even phish information or identities of your present employees to get to you. There are things that criminals can do to twist the arms of your employees, even your most trusted ones, just to squeeze the information they want regarding you, your customers and your business.

So, what can you do on how to avoid identity theft fraud at your business? Make sure that you invest in good software that will prevent viruses, malwares and spywares from entering your company’s computer database. You need such security measures to ensure that you are protected from outside hackers and ripoffs. In order to protect yourself from the inside, you need to be more careful with the people you hire. Also, take the time to inform your employees about the growing threat of identity theft fraud and tell them how they can detect criminals trying to phish information from them. In addition, it is important that you do not allow personal emails, external messaging applications and other personal activities on your company’s computer network. Perhaps if your employees understand how these things are threatening, they won’t feel as if you are attempting to stifle them personally.

Financial liability is one of the biggest impacts of being a victim of corporate identity theft. To protect yourself from financial repercussions and scams, you should find an assurance agency that will help cover loses and other related expenses in case problems regarding hacking and identity theft arise.



Dawn

bobrekrabold asked:


Does this mean theyre going to get caught? How good are my chances that these guys will get caught and be brought to justice? Chances are theyve been arrested before and when I supply the precinct with the two different locations where they tried to use my card this week, theyll get the tapes and look at who tried.

This all leads back to when I was jumped on August 6. They got $18, my social security card, and my addresses. I never thought they’d be dumb enough to use the card, or smart enough to hold onto vital information for this long. I’m fearing ID theft is possible, but with the information I told you, what are the chances of them being caught? I mean, they ARE ON TAPE!
This happened to me in nyc but the area where it occurred is of small proximity and the criminals tried to conduct some of this acitivity less than a quarter mile from where I was robbed. In addition to this, the local police jurisdiction has some significant crime but doesn’t cover a wide area. I’m hoping this will help me.
I thought the cops didnt care and THATS why I never reported it but now that I have Hard evidence against these assho!es tehyre expressing an interest in me so fu*k off to the guy that asked “do you think they really care?”

Adrian

Robert Dimarco asked:


Dear Mr Alberto Cruz,

I read your article, very well written; but what a waste of talent. You have spent a lot of energy defending the most outrageous claims (Castro, ID theft, etc) – those are not real issues at hand – please next time defend coherently the false promises from abel mesa (lower caps for the blasphemous that implores the name of GOD in vain) – not to mention the pleople that have gone through economic hardship because of abel mesa (many traveled far and spent their hard earn money for this idiot’s lies)

Friend, I don’t think you get it, the swindler called “abel mesa” or his lpc company are not going to come through for you or anyone like you, not now, not ever. Write this assertion in stone, and when the smoke clears and you can see the light please relate to it. 

Furthermore the charlatan called “abel mesa” runs lpc like a cult of personality – no one can question his motives. He gives no coherent explanations about his false statements, and when press he invokes the name of “GOD” (mind you, in vain) – He runs lpc like a Cult of Personality” – abel mesa being the ultimate authoritarian.

 

Schemers like “abel mesa” with promises of the pie in the sky – for their own ulterior motives – have existed throughout our intrepreneurial capitalist history

In case you are not fully aware, or have forgotten I will give you some examples of other cults of personalities were people were duped, ruin, died, or even murdered – they all had one thing in comon following their false prophets:

Cults in our history:

#1 Bhagwan Shree Rajneeh, a hindu (quite a character – still popular today even after his 1990 death) – He founded the Rajneesh Foundation International – made 100’s of millions of dollars (based on donations – he did not even offer a product – it’s unbelievable) – His members conspired to poison a whole community in Dallrs Oregon – the motive ‘Power and Greed’

#2 Jim Jones (supposedly a devoted Christian) founded Branch Davinians in Jonestown Guyana – He is responsible for murdering 700 faithful followers – Motive ‘Greed and Paranoia’

#3 David Koresh (He was Devinne – Jesus on earth) founded Branch Davinians in Waco Texas – raped children in the name of faith and eventually was killed with many innocent followers during a stand off with Federal forces – the motive ‘Pervation, Greed and Power’

There are amny more – but I hope that you get the idea with the ones mentioned above.

********

Misplaced Faith can be a very dangerous thing.

As far as I recall, “Faith” has nothing to do with a product, person, or promise. Faith can be a very dangerous thing when it is misplaced.

When abel mesa and his company lpcglabal use ‘Faith’ as a tool to prey on decent people – This is heresy – This is not CHRISTIAN like. Beware of false prophets and their demons.

For the pompous titanically conceited s.o.b. named abel mesa  – my advice is: Save your prayers for your own soul (Brother) – you are not saving me with your hypocricy – Stop being condescending with your ‘phony’ tree dollar bill dog and pony act - 

************

One last thing:

A cult will NEVER tolerate skepticism NEVER!!!!

(Remember You don’t have to be stupid or ignorant to be brainwashed by a cult – anyone is a target. Some of the brightest people have fallen for this sort of collective brainwashing)

Open your eyes and keep an open mind,

Robert Dimarco



Raul

Ann Marier asked:


The identity theft of social security number is an issue that is incredibly important, and so you really want to take this matter into as serious consideration as you can. After all, in regards to identity theft in general, identity theft of social security number is one of the most common issues, and this is why you are going to want to learn as much as you can about the matter of identity theft of social security number.

More About Identity Theft of Social Security Number

In regards to the issue of identity theft of social security number, there is much that needs to be known. For instance, there is the fact of how you should never carry your social security card around with you unless you really have to, and this way you have less chance of losing it while you are out.

As well, when you do have it at home, you should make sure that it is somewhere safe, where no one else knows where it is and where it will not get lost. This is one of if not the absolute most important piece of identification that you have, and your social security card is the key thing that a person would need in order to steal your identity, which is why you should always make sure that you know where it is and that you make sure that it is safe.

If you do happen to lose it, you are going to want to make sure that you call the authorities right away, and that you notify everyone that you have to that the card has been lost or stolen, and make sure that everyone is aware of this. Then you want to make sure that you get yourself a new card, and if the old card never turns up, you want to make sure that you keep a status on it.

This means asking to see if the number has been used or reported anywhere, because if it has then you know that someone has found it and that they are using it, which obviously is illegal. Just make sure that you make yourself as informed as possible and that you take all of the right steps in order to protect yourself and take care of yourself if you do end up losing your card or having it stolen.



Mildred

Michelle Oaks asked:


theft is a huge problem and as the economy has gotten worse so has identity theft. There has never been a time when it was more important to protect yourself from identity theft than now.

You may be wondering how you can protect yourself but first I think you should understand How bad identity theft has really become.

Here are some scary facts about identity theft – what is now the fastest-growing crime in the nation:

· There have been over 9 million victims a year for two years running

(Better Business Bureau and Javelin Strategy & Research, January 2005)

· Identity theft has been the top consumer complaint to FTC five years in a row

(Federal Trade Commission, National and State Trends in Fraud and Identity Theft, February 1, 2005)

??????· Identity theft has claimed over 30 million victims in past five years

(Federal Trade Commission, 2003 and Better Business Bureau, 2005)

WOW! Identity theft has become a nationwide problem with millions of victims of all ages.

Here is a fact that will probably surprise you. In 2003, nearly 7 million people became victims of identity theft in the previous 12 months. That breaks down to around 19,178 per day, 799 per hour, and 13.3 per minute.

It is a fact, according to the US Department of Justice, that drug trafficking is now being replaced by identity theft as the number one crime. This affects all of us in one way or another.

Either you, or someone you know becomes a victim of identity theft.

AND, identity theft causes stores and credit card company to raise prices and their rates, respectively.

So what does this mean? We all pay for identity theft in some way so we all need to protect ourselves and our loved ones and we need to be sure to report as soon as possible anyone that we suspect of trying to steal someone’s identity.

Although identity theft scams most often happen over the phone you need to be careful where-ever you are. They could contact you online, over the phone or even come to your door.

Be sure to provide the police with any pertinent information that you may have. Time, location, what the person looked like, sounded like, caller id information, what type of vehicle-kind, color, year, distinguishing marks on the person or their vehicle, etc.

For many people it will probably take hundreds of hours, and an average of $1,000, just to recover from ID theft. Even worse is that in some innocent victims have ended up in prison because identity thieves have been committing crimes in their names. Thus, the victim then ends up being victimized twice.

Now hopefully this has shown you why identity theft prevention is so important. We want to help you to protect yourself from this awful nightmare. We have an excellent resource to help you to protect yourself so that you never need worry about becoming a victim of identity theft. Find out about the different ways that these scammers will use to steal your identity and how you can protect yourself from them.

Now, if you would like to find out more about how identity thieves can steal your identity from you in the first place then please send a blank email to .

identity-theft-facts@freeautobot.com



Lester

Dave Stuart asked:


There are literally dozens of things you can do to prevent ID theft. Although education is a critical part of preventing ID theft, a good old-fashioned paper shredder is one of the most important, yet overlooked, things you can use.

It is amazing the amount of credit card applications, receipts, invoices and bills we receive in the mail on a daily basis. A lot of this “junk mail” gets thrown in the garbage without even a second glance. Some people even rip mail in half, thinking this is enough to prevent someone else using this information.

Garbage is an identity thief’s best friend. They love it. It literally takes seconds for a thief to rummage through your garbage and grab sensitive information. This could be from your garbage can sitting on the curb, a garbage can sitting next to a desk all the way to a dumpster behind a building.

Letters ripped in half can be easily taped back together. There are reported cases of credit card applications being taped back together, mailed in and approved!

The only sure way to be certain a thief doesn’t get their hands on your discarded mail is to shred it. Confetti-cut (cross-cut) documents are next to impossible to re-assemble. Most thieves want to take the easy path and won’t even bother trying to piece together shredded paper.

Higher security levels on shredders means the particles are cut smaller. Security level 4 to 6 shredders make it impossible to read information. Paper shredders range in size from a small shredder designed to shred letters to a high-end shredder designed to shred bins of paper. There is a shredder out there for you that will work for your needs.

Prices on paper shredders have dropped over the years. There is no longer a good excuse not to buy a paper shredder. Make sure your identity is safe and start shredding today!



Joe

Keith Londrie asked:


Identity theft (ID theft or identity fraud) is the deliberate appropriation of an individual’s personal information to impersonate that person in a legal sense. Stealing someone’s identity enables the thief to make a frightening number of financial and personal transactions in someone else’s name, leaving the victim responsible for what might turn out to be a mind-boggling turmoil in his or her life. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) keeps records on identity theft, and, not surprisingly, the number of incidents reported increase each year. The recent identity theft statistics reveal that ID theft affects as many as ten million Americans each year! According to FTC’s identity theft statistics, the losses to businesses and financial institutions total nearly 53 billion dollars annually.

These identity theft statistics further reveal that the most common types of ID thefts are credit card frauds, communications services fraud (such as opening a cell phone or a utility services account using someone else’s information), bank fraud and loan fraud. For years, the primary cause of identity theft has been good old-fashioned or low-tech analog crime. Impersonators rummaging though mailboxes, snatching purses or searching the garbage for discarded bank statements or credit card receipts. Rapid advances in technology have seen a plague of sophisticated phishing attacks. Identity theft statistics expose phishing as the most dangerous of all ID thefts that uses both social engineering and technical subterfuge.

Phishing can have serious financial consequences. In a phishing attack, the victim is sent an email that “appears” to be from a bank or other financial institution. The victim is then told to click a link and verify his/her account information or supply personal identity data. The link appears to be a legitimate site, but is in fact a scam. The moment he/she enters sensitive data, the identity thief gains access to account information and can empty the bank account. Phishers can also take out credit cards in the victim’s name, steal ISP account information and do other financial damage. In its latest report on identity theft statistics, the research group Gartner says that close to 60 million Americans reported receiving a phishing email, and 1.7 million people have been victims of identity theft, which cost banks and credit card companies $1.2 billion in losses.

You must take steps to protect your account information, social security numbers, passwords, etc. Now. Always memorize and shred important documents that you are discarding. Don’t simply throw these types of documents away!



Agnes