By Gina Tagliarino
Picture this scenario.brYou receive a phone call from a number you don't recognize. The caller is sentbrto voicemail, and upon playback, you hear a friendly yet unsettling voice inquiringbrif you've opened a credit card account at their department store recently. Onlybrproblem is … you haven't.
Could someone be tryingbrto steal your identity? More than one in four people have experienced identitybrtheft, according to MSI International. It's a crime that cost Americans $16brbillion in 2014, according to a study by Javelin Strategy and Research.
If you're like localbridentity theft victim, Jessica*, or most people for that matter, you'llbrprobably chalk this up as a scam, or at least a clever way to get you to signbrup for a credit card once you return the call. Unfortunately, this time thebrphone rang again. On the line was Jessica's bank, now asking if she had openedbrnot one, but five additional credit cards with various merchants recently.
“I was furious,” Jessicabrrecalls. “In less than 24 hours, the fraudster(s) had opened or attempted tobropen 18 different accounts and charged more than $10,000 using my identity.brSome were done online, some in the stores and some charged to my existing storebraccounts.”
A Crime That Hits Too Close to Home
Frightening scene, butbrthis couldn't happen to you, right? Consider this: Between 2014 and 2015,bridentity theft rose by 47 percent nationally, and Texas rose from tenth placebrto eighth place on the Federal Trade Commission's list of states with thebrhighest per-capita identity theft complaints.
Bringing it even morebrlocal, Southlake ranks 28th place in Credit Donkey's Safest Citiesbrin Texas 2016 study, compared to our neighbor Colleyville's first-placebrstanding. What's more, the crime has no age biases. People young and old arebrimpacted by identity theft.
Southlake Police ChiefbrJames Brandon says Southlake's identity theft problem isn't necessarily abrunique one, as it's striking victims across the country.
“Identity theft cases arebron the rise nationwide, and have become one of the most common ways thatbrsomeone is victimized,” Chief Brandon explains. “If one looks at the trend on abrregional, state or national level, the numbers are increasing year to year.”
Southlake Mayor LaurabrHill agrees. “Identity theft has unfortunately become the new normal,” she says.br“It is frightening to think how many people I know that have either beenbraffected personally or have a friend who has been affected.”
According to SouthlakebrPolice records, 184 identity theft cases were reported in the city in 2015, andbr37 reported just in the first two months of 2016. But what constitutes anbridentity theft case? And could you be considered a victim?
“Identity theft isbrgenerally understood to fall within the Texas penal code section 32.51brFraudulent Use or Possession of Identifying Information,” Chief Brandon says.br“This means that it is illegal to possess or use someone else's information tobrobtain credit, goods or services.”
Still many get identitybrtheft confused with credit card abuse, which, while a serious crime, is notbrnearly as difficult to recover from.
“I think it's safe to saybranyone who has ever had a credit card probably had an unauthorized charge onbrhis or her account,” Jessica says. “However, with credit card fraud, it's abrsimple process to get rid of unwanted charges. You call the credit card companybrand cancel the card. They send you a new one. With identity theft, the processbris not that simple. Unless you have a company like ID Watchdog or LifeLock thatbrwill do the legwork for you, it's a tedious process.”
And it all starts withbrone unfortunate phone call. So, what should you do first if you receive abrmessage that your identity has been stolen? Where do you turn?
Be Vigilant and Smart
“If one believes theybrhave become a victim of identity theft, the first step is to notify your localbrpolice department to file a report,” Chief Brandon says. “Most credit agenciesbrand creditors will not accept a victim's claim without an official policebrreport.”
When Jessica discoveredbrshe had been victimized, she and her husband jumped to their phones to takebraction.
“I called the creditbrbureaus, he called the banks and credit card companies, the police, the IRS …branyone else we could think to notify,” she recalls. “I was desperate forbrinformation and the ‘off' switch. In hindsight, I would have frozen my creditbrwith all three credit bureaus rather than just issue a fraud alert.”
Based on her experience,brJessica recommends everyone take a few precautionary steps to help protectbrthemselves from identity theft, though she knows no one will ever be completelybrsafe. Here's her advice:
1) Shred your personalbrinformation.
2) Only mail yourbroutgoing mail at the USPS office, or hand deliver it to the mail carrier.
3) Enable two-step onlinebrverification for all your email accounts and bank/financial institutionbraccounts. Add verbal passwords to all your bank, credit card and merchantbraccounts.
4) Get a credit reportbrfrom all three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and Transunion).
5) Freeze your credit forbreveryone in your household (even children).
Though all highlybrsuggested, Jessica notes the credit report to be the most important of all. “Dobrit today, and make sure it matches what you should have on there,” she urges.br“Are there any inquiries from companies that you did not authorize? Are therebrany discrepancies? If yes, take care of those immediately.”
Chief Brandon echoesbrJessica's recommendation to shred all personal information. “In the past fewbryears, there have been several large-scale data breaches including Target andbrthe federal government,” he says. “Though a consumer can't prevent a company'sbrdata breach, things like retrieving mail promptly and putting out trash justbrbefore pickup can help. Shredding documents that contain personal informationbris also a great way to prevent a criminal from acquiring the needed informationbrfor an identity theft.”
Take advantage of neighborhoodbror community trash collection events, such as Southlake's annual Crud Cruiser,brto clean house while staying safe—with all documents shredded before removal.
“The bad guys always seembrto be one step ahead of us,” Mayor Hill says. “Protecting yourself is abrnever-ending task, and that doesn't even begin to deal with companies, thebrgovernment and doctors that have your personal information that can bebrcompromised.
“When you have computersbrsearching for access, there is no selectivity,” Mayor Hill adds. “Hackers don'tbrcare where you live.”
With data breaches andbronline hacking becoming an easy way for criminals to hide behind a screen, thebronly choice people have to protect themselves is absolute diligence.
In addition to thebrsuggestions listed above, the National Consumers League advises updatingbrbrowsers, anti-virus and operating system software regularly, securing your homebrwireless router and network, taking caution when opening links or attachmentsbrin emails, staying aware of which companies store your personal data, filingbryour taxes early, and again, reviewing your credit reports frequently.
If all this seems abrlittle overwhelming, identity theft protection companies are available to helpbrkeep watch over your assets, so you're not in this alone.
“After years of thinkingbrthat I should sign up for some kind of identity theft protection, a recent casebrin Southlake motivated me to finally do it,” Mayor Hill says.
Chief Brandon says thatbrwhile some may be wary of paying a resource to assist with protecting yourbridentity, the pros may outweigh the cons. “Critics of companies such as LifeLockbrare quick to point out that a vigilant person can do many of the same thingsbrthat the company does. One can examine their free credit report to ensure thatbrno credit has been obtained that isn't legitimate. Reality is, most of us arebrnot that vigilant, and there may be some benefit from utilizing thesebrcompanies,” he says. Even if you don't invest in services, the company's blog,brLifeLockUnlocked.com, is a goldmine of useful information.
“Spend the money to makebrsure your computer, iPad and cell phone are safe,” Mayor Hill advises. “Hirebrexperts if you aren't sure. You have to assume the worst will happen; that itbrwill happen to you.”
Can you really put abrprice on peace of mind? Many, including Jessica, would likely say no. She'sbrstill working to put the pieces of her stolen life back together, and it seemsbreveryone knows another victim doing just the same. SS
*Last name omitted to protect victim's identity
The Cold, Hard Facts of Identity Theft
More than 13 millionbrAmericans have experienced some sort of identity theft.
Identity fraud occursbrevery two seconds.
More than 30 percent ofbridentity theft victims are scammed by family and close friends.
Identity theft has beenbrthe No. 1 consumer complaint for 15 consecutive years.
More than one billionbrrecords containing personal information were leaked in 2014.
Sources: Federal Trade Commission, CNN Money, IBM,brABC News