Fraud Alert: Does it help?

So, have any of you Ohio tax payers received your letter from the state of Ohio saying your name and Social Security number were on that stolen laptop? The state has offered those concerned about identity theft one year of protection services with Debix with no charge to the potential victim. Or maybe you don't live in Ohio but suspect you might be a victim (or potential victim) of identity theft. There is something else you can do to protect your credit.

One thing the Federal Trade Commission recommends is placing a fraud alert on your credit reports.

But what is a fraud alert? The major credit reporting bureaus attach to your credit report (at your request) to let potential creditors know that your data has been compromised, and before opening any kind of credit account (credit cards, loans, cell phone accounts, etc.), they should contact you by phone to confirm that it is actually you requesting this credit. It also entitles you to a free copy of your credit report. The initial fraud alert can be placed if you suspect you are a victim (or a potential victim) of identity theft and is effective for ninety days. You can request an extended fraud alert, but you must provide a copy of your identity theft report.

So does it help? Yes and no. It depends on whether or not creditors are willing to call you. Some will contact you as they should, and others will not. With companies that don't, some will automatically deny credit, which is only a problem if you are trying to obtain a loan or credit card. Others may ignore it and approve the account anyway. That's when you have to worry.

More Proposed Identity Theft Legislation

According to a recent news report, the Bush administration has sent proposed legislation to Congress regarding the improvement of federal identity theft laws as recommended by the Identity Theft Task Force.

The Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act of 2007 aims to increase penalties for certain types of identity theft and allow victims to recover more than just direct financial losses. Provisions in this legislation increase penalties for those using keystroke loggers and spyware to commit their crimes. This act would also allow victims to recover the time lost to attempting to repair whatever damage identity theft has caused. You can read more about it here.

While this is a step in the right direction, more also needs to be done to educate the public about how to protect themselves against identity thieves. No amount of money or legislation can recover the peace of mind that one loses as an identity theft victim.

Possible Social Security Identity Theft Scam

I've mentioned some specific scams identity thieves use in other posts, and I try to pass more along as I run across them. This one may just be a regional one at the moment, but I'm going to post information about it just in case. A number of citizens in Jonesboro, Arkansas, have reported receiving phone calls that they believe to be a possible identity theft scam.

The caller claims to be from the Social Security Administration and says that they can offer the client more Social Security benefits if the client lets the caller come to his house. So far, it looks like it's not fairing too well for the scammer. Most who reported the call said they told the caller no, and one person offered to call and check up on this first. The caller hung up. If this were legitimate, there would have been no problem with the client calling the administration to verify the offer.

The local Social Security Administration says they do not often make house calls. When they do go to someone's home, they send a letter letting the person know. They don't call and ask for permission in exchange for more benefits. Be careful who you allow in your home and what information you give to strangers.

This may be a local scam in Arkansas, but similar scams exist. Remember, be suspicious of anyone calling and asking for this information. The Social Security Administration or the IRS will not ask for information they should already have.

State Laptop Stolen in Ohio

On June 10, a laptop with sensitive information regarding thousands of Ohio taxpayers was stolen from an intern's unlocked car. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has announced today that about 786,000 Ohio taxpayers are at risk of identity theft because their names and Social Security numbers were stored on this laptop. That's three times more potential victims than they originally thought. According to Strickland, there is no evidence that any of this personal information has been accessed.

Well, that's comforting.

Being a citizen of Ohio, I find this particularly disturbing. What bothers me most is that this information was left in the hands of someone careless enough to leave an unlocked car, particularly one with sensitive taxpayer information.

Data Theft at Fidelity National

This recent data breach is a perfect example of the dishonest insider. According to a recent news report, a database administrator of Certegy Check Services, a subsidiary of Fidelity National Information Services, stole the information of about 2.3 million customers and sold it to data broker. The data broker then resold the information to direct marketers who used the information to solicit these Fidelity customers for product offers. The employee has since been fired and the situation is still under investigation.

At this point, there doesn't appear to be any identity fraud committed as a result of this, but it is still possible since the junk mail from these direct marketing agencies, if stolen, can be used to commit identity theft. This is an clear example of what can happen when a dishonest employee has access to sensitive information and misuses it for profit. Whether or not this results in identity theft remains to be seen.