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ID Theft

ID theft and fraud are no laughing matter and you should be concerned about it. Once an ID has been stolen, it can sometimes take years and lots of your time and money to clear up credit and other problems that have been created by thieves.

At one time I worked for the State of Arizona in a fraud unit handling motor vehicle and driver's license fraud. Most of the time ID's were stolen by young people. Sometimes it was to get them in a bar before they were 21. Other times it was done because they were frequently in trouble with the law and needed someone else's identification so the police wouldn't know who they really were if they got picked up. Arizona is close to the Mexican border and many cars do go over the border with phony titles and vin numbers and are never found again.

It's reported that ID theft is on the rise. TV shows constantly warn us and unfortunately it is the older generation who worries most about it. It can happen to anyone. I heard of one ID thief who got sent to prison for ID theft. She went behind the State office buildings and went through trash bins. I couldn't believe that these bags of trash had not been shredded! There have been various stories in the past few years about ID thieves getting lots of good information from unshredded doctor's files found in dumpsters.

Personally, I believe that the easiest way to steal someone's ID is to steal your mail or your unshredded trash. Paper shredders are not very expensive these days. I shred every piece of paper that has my name on it, especially unsolicited offers for credit cards. We have all these privacy forms to sign now at the doctor's office but those records still have social security numbers and other vital pieces of information about you. Security is only as good as a very diligent employee.

Banks and credit card companies are getting much better about calling if they see something very strange happening on your account. Marilyn, who lives in Arizona, became an ID theft victim and couldn't understand how the thief was able to rob her account of $200 daily in California when her debit card was still in her possession. According to a January 2008 article in Reader's Digest Magazine the card must have been out of Marilyn's sight for just a little while and the thief used a scanner to make a copy of the card. That also gave him her pin number. Whoopee! Free money-- at least until they caught up with him! Marilyn was lucky that her bank put the money back into her account. I understand that by using a debit card, they don't have to.

The usual card issued by your bank so you can access your checking account is both a debit and a credit card. When you use it as a debit, you have to give your pin number to get funds. When you use it as a credit card, you must sign a receipt. So, say "credit" whenever possible so that you have rights.

My friend Connie used her bank card as a debit when she ordered something on the Internet which cost $40.00. She wasn't happy with what she received, so she immediately returned the item. She's written numerous e-mails to the company but receives no response. Had she used her credit card, she could have disputed the charges and probably received a refund.

One lawyer recommends that instead of signing your name on the back of a credit card, you should instead write "ask for identification".

DO check with the three credit bureaus each year (free now) to make sure there aren't any strange items there you know nothing about. It's unbelievable that these thieves are now stealing ID from young kids not yet out of school and it's not discovered until they apply for their own credit.

I suppose as long as there are crooks out there, they will do their best to find another way to get around the system. We just need to try to keep one step ahead of them!

Catch the guy right here!