Identity Theft

Originally the thieves were often family members or neighbors and friends who had access to and were tempted by personal credit cards.  The crime has become much more menacing and widespread, crossing federal and international borders.

Behind the perpetrators now are often drug groups and experienced crime gangs.   To combat Identity Theft, an array of agencies are at work here, including, as well as the FBI, LA County Sheriff’s Department, ICE (U S Immigration and Custom Enforcement), Secret Service, postal authorities and local police.  Financial institutions are now heavily involved too.

The strategy is to investigate, arrest and prosecute.  One problem is that the perpetrators cross and re-cross different lines of jurisdiction, so that calls for more and better cooperation.

The trouble with shared resources is that there is much more data to process, and not enough personnel to do it.  A typical workload for an FBI agent is 417 per year.  There were 11 million victims reported in 2010, and $54 billion in losses.  That is rapidly increasing each year.

Computer security can be breached in so many new and inventive ways: hacking (breaking into the stored information); phishing (innocent-looking inquires trying to fish out information);spoofing (pretending to be a legitimate entity asking for help or data);skimming (places where credit cards can be copied such a gas station machines, restaurants, retail stores, ATM’s.  Yes, all the places where you thought you could keep an eye on your card. 

Some of the crimes are achieved with the cooperation of internal employees.  And there is now credit card application fraud and mortgage application fraud, where access to line of credit is obtained in your name but used by criminals.  You get the final bill.  It takes 6-8 years to clear up.

There is government identity fraud, where criminals can take your social security payment away before you get to it; as well as government pensions and military pension fraud.  Crooks are not patriotic.

Documents such as driver’s license, social security card and vital statistics (birth certificate) are easily counterfeited, so one can present a false identity.  From there it’s only a step to changing the figures on checks, getting into post office boxes and bank safe deposit boxes.  All the passwords are “disarmed’ by the false identity bearer, using your forged identity.

How can such personal information be obtained? Obvious ways, such as dumpster diving and employees skimming your credit card. Criminals can change your address in the store’s records, so you don’t get the bill of the excess purchases, and they can run you into deep debt.  You can’t complain in a “timely” manner, to protect yourself, because the information is diverted from ever coming to your mailbox.

Nevertheless, one good way of preventing identity fraud is still checking your items in your monthly statements, such as department store, credit cards, utility bills.  If you go to check and find you aren’t receiving. these monthly statements, you are probably in the middle of being victimized.

One of the worst assistants to perpetrators now is desktop publishing companies.  Anyone can print business cards and bank checks in “false” names but with your picture, and use them to get access.

Identity theft affects everyone.  

What can you to do protect yourself against sophisticated crooks and drug cartels?  Have your firewalls up.  USE A SHREDDER, the kind that cuts criss-cross and produces confetti, not just long strips of paper, which can be put back together again.

 Deal in cash.

Don’t carry your social security card.  Never give out information over the phone if you yourself did not initiate the call.

Don’t enter contests and give personal information.  Beware: if scams ask for credit cards before you can collect your prize – you will never see anything of your money again.  Don’t use your credit card to contribute to unknown charities, no matter how pitiful the cause of maimed children or wolves may be.  Member Alicia de la Cruz Cruz added that banks never call you to ask your banking numbers.  That is an outright give-away that an identity thief is after you.