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SkyLines Magazine: A Member-only Benefit
Below is an excerpt from the July 2010 issue of SkyLines. The article is a report on a session from the SDA National EDSymposium Conference which was held in May of 2010. The topic is Identity Theft.
Do You Know Where Your Identity Is?
Reported by Pat Leyden, CDFA
Hopefully only with you! One of the most interesting sessions I attended at EdSymposium10 was given by the Las Vegas office of the FBI on Identity Fraud.
I had recently heard a few stories about firms discovering employees using someone else’s identity, including one company whose payroll manager was arrested for identity fraud. So I thought I might learn how to protect both my firm and my employees from an increasingly common crime.
While the session was focused primarily on personal identity theft and how to prevent it or deal with it when it happens to you, it does appear that the federal e-Verify system is an effective tool to ensure your employees are legal. But beyond its main purpose of verifying employee citizenship or ability to work in the U.S., it can also be a deterrent to those using false identity or visa information. I would urge you to enroll your firm in e-Verify as a protection.
In terms of personal protection, the session offered up some very practical, real life tips and information. The reality is that 48% of those who are victims of identity theft only realize it three months after the initial theft occurs. By that point, a thief has everything needed to start a new identity: name, address, credit card information, social security number, passport information, and bank account information.
Do this right now:
go to www.annualcreditreport.com and check out your credit report. You can do this for free once a year.
All of the major credit rating services (Equifax, Transunion, Experian) offer a subscription which will monitor your credit report and allow you access regularly to see if anything has changed. This is a powerful protection.
Some Safeguards
Shred! While computer fraud is what we may think of first, the low tech theft of obtaining information through your mail and trash is common. It is remarkably easy to obtain all kinds of information through your paper garbage. Even if you don’t have a shredder, tear your mail up well before you put it in the trash.
Wireless computer access. If you do not protect your wireless connection, a thief can get all of the information needed by accessing your online transactions. Make sure you block access to your wifi.
Personal information. Giving out personal information should be truly a “need-to-know” transaction. The FBI presenter said there are almost no situations when you are obligated to supply your social security number. Even a doctor’s office does not need to have that information, yet it is on every new patient form. I tested this myself by leaving it off the form when I visited a new doctor, and there was no discussion at all about needing it. Particularly for your children – posting your picture on the internet makes it available for misuse by the wrong people. Your face can be copied into another picture for illicit reasons. Do not put your home address into your GPS car system. A parking attendant then has access to your car key, perhaps a garage opener in your car or a house key on the keychain, and the address of your home while you are obviously not home. You can also remove your GPS when you leave the car and give only your car key to the attendant.
The FBI’s advice if your identity is in fact stolen:
1. Close any accounts that could be affected, particularly any used online.
2. Change all passwords. Use a computer other than your home computer to do this.
3. Notify the police.
4. Notify the credit agencies listed above.
5. Notify the FBI – there are two websites to do this: www.fbi.gov and www.ic3.gov. This site is specifically for identity theft.
Your identity is incredibly valuable to thieves – don’t give it up without a fight!
Pat Leyden, CDFA is the President of the SDA New York Chapter, and Vice President/Administration for WSP Flack + Kurtz.