San Diego Community College Police Department
IDENTITY THEFT
What is identity theft?
Identity theft occurs when someone uses your name, address, Social
Security number (SSN), bank or credit card account number, or other identifying
information without your knowledge to commit fraud or other crimes.
An article from the
Residents report identity thefts
One resident reported receiving a call Saturday from
a man identifying himself as Mike Smith from Bank of America. The caller said
he needed to verify the man's accounts, then asked for and received the man's
Social Security and credit card numbers, Sgt. Lloyd Muenzer said.
About an hour later, the man checked with his bank
and was able to stop an unauthorized $3,000 transaction, Muenzer said.
The station received a similar report from another
resident. – Shannon Tangonan
Copyright 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
How can someone steal my identity?
Identity thieves may use a variety of low- and high-tech methods to gain
access to your personally identifying information. For example:
- They get information from
businesses or institutions by:
- stealing records from their
employer,
- bribing an employee who has
access to the records,
- conning information out of
employees, or
- hacking into the
organization's computers.
- They rummage through your
trash, the trash of businesses, or dumps in a practice known as
"dumpster diving."
- They obtain credit reports by
abusing their employer's authorized access to credit reports or by posing
as a landlord, employer or someone else who may have a legitimate need for
and a legal right to the information.
- They steal credit and debit
card account numbers as your card is processed by using a special
information storage device in a practice known as "skimming."
- They steal wallets and purses
containing identification and credit and bankcards.
- They steal mail, including
bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, new checks,
or tax information.
- They complete a "change
of address form" to divert mail to another location.
- They steal personal
information from your home.
- They scam information from
you by posing as a legitimate businessperson or government official.
If you think your identity has been stolen,
here's what to do now:
- Contact the fraud departments of any one 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 two credit bureaus will be
automatically notified to place fraud alerts, and all three credit reports
will be sent to you free of charge
- Close the accounts that you know or believe have
been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Use the ID Theft Affidavit when disputing new unauthorized accounts.
- File a police report. Get a copy of the report
to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the
crime.
- File your complaint with the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC). The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law
enforcement agencies for investigations. Filing a complaint also helps the
FTC learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having so
that they can better assist you.
What You Can Do Today
- Order a copy of your credit report
from each of the three major credit bureaus. Your
credit report contains information on where you work and live, the credit
accounts that have been opened in your name, how you pay your bills and
whether you’ve been sued, arrested or filed for bankruptcy. Make sure it’s
accurate and includes only those activities you’ve authorized. By law,
credit bureaus can charge you no more than $9 for a copy of your credit
report.
- Place passwords on your credit card,
bank and phone accounts.
Avoid using easily available information like your mother’s maiden name,
your birth date, the last four digits of your SSN or your phone number, or
a series of consecutive numbers. When opening new accounts, you may find
that many businesses still have a line on their applications for your
mother’s maiden name. Use a password instead.
- Secure personal information in your
home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help
or are having service work done in your home.
- Ask about information security
procedures in your workplace. Find
out who has access to your personal information and verify that records
are kept in a secure location. Ask about the disposal procedures for those
records as well.
Maintaining Vigilance
·
Order a copy of your credit report from each
of the three major credit bureaus once a year. By checking your report on a
regular basis you can catch mistakes and fraud before they wreak havoc on your
personal finances. Don’t underestimate the importance of this step. One of the
most common ways that consumers find out that they’re victims of identity theft
is when they try to make a major purchase, like a house or a car. The deal can
be lost or delayed while the credit report mess is straightened out. Knowing
what’s in your credit report allows you to fix problems before they jeopardize
a major financial transaction.
- Don’t give out personal information on the
phone, through the mail or over the Internet unless you’ve initiated the
contact or are sure you know who you’re dealing with. Identity thieves may
pose as representatives of banks, Internet service providers (ISPs) and
even government agencies to get you to reveal your SSN, mother’s maiden
name, account numbers and other identifying information. Before you share
any personal information, confirm that you are dealing with a legitimate
organization. You can check the organization’s Web site as many companies
post scam alerts when their name is used improperly, or you can call
customer service using the number listed on your account statement or in
the telephone book.
·
Guard your mail and trash from theft.
- Deposit outgoing mail in post office collection
boxes or at your local post office, rather than in an unsecured mailbox.
Promptly remove mail from your mailbox. If you’re planning to be away from
home and can’t pick up your mail, call the U.S. Postal Service
at 1-800-275-8777 to request a vacation hold. The Postal Service will hold
your mail at your local post office until you can pick it up or are home
to receive it.
- To thwart an identity thief who may pick through
your trash or recycling bins to capture your personal information, tear or
shred your charge receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance
forms, physician statements, checks and bank statements, expired charge
cards that you’re discarding, and credit offers you get in the mail.
- Before revealing any personally identifying
information (for example, on an application), find out how it will be used
and secured, and whether it will be shared with others. Ask if you have a
choice about the use of your information. Can you choose to have it kept
confidential?
- Don’t carry your SSN card; leave it in a secure
place.
- Give your SSN only when absolutely necessary.
Ask to use other types of identifiers when possible. If your state uses
your SSN as your driver’s license number, ask to substitute another
number.
- Carry only the identification information and
the number of credit and debit cards that you’ll actually need.
- Pay attention to your billing cycles. Follow up
with creditors if your bills don’t arrive on time. A missing credit card
bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your account and changed
your billing address to cover his tracks.
- Be wary of promotional scams. Identity thieves
may use phony offers to get you to give them your personal information.
- Keep your purse or wallet in a safe place at
work.
If you have information about
crimes which have occurred, or may occur on or near campus, you may report it
by calling College Police at (619) 388-6405, the San Diego Police at (619)
531-2000 or crimes stoppers at (619) 235-TIPS. Your cooperation is greatly
appreciated.
David Worden
Chief of Police