By Aaron Collins

Phishers and skimmers and hackers … oh my! These days, the perils of modern living multiply as fast as technology expands and humans can adapt it to ignoble ends.

Reported identity thefts in Visalia were up from 321 cases in 2007 to 403 in 2008, a jump of 25%.

In Central California, as elsewhere, the increasing identity theft rate has its roots in many interconnected ills. Internet-enabled fraudsters are often no strangers to other vices such as methamphetamine production and abuse. Scammers use names and social security numbers to acquire medical coverage, rent apartments, and most recently, obtain others’ tax refunds.

Proliferating Internet use has provided new opportunities for the bad guys to compromise security. Online, all someone needs is your phone number, address, and social security number to gain access to existing accounts in your name or to open up new accounts. Key-logging software enables surreptitious recording of keystrokes on shared public computers. Further complicating matters, our already-limited job market and now staggering economy combine to tempt financially desperate people to cross over to the dark side.

And of course, the victims themselves play a role, with something akin to magical thinking. Honest people with little exposure to crooks disbelieve that anyone will act against them. These beliefs can translate to casual trash-handling practices that could enable a more literate trash digger to ghostwrite an autobiography, given the sheer volume of information that pours into the typical household garbage each week. Our throwaway society takes an out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach to household trash: It reliably disappears at the curb so that we need never think of it again—or so goes the thinking.

Jerome Howell (name changed to protect his identity) of Exeter was walking his dog in an open field near his home in May when he stumbled across remnants of his own trash, which he had emptied just a few days prior. “I had shredded most bills, receipts, and mail, but a few overlooked personal records were intact. It wasn’t my life flashing before my eyes, exactly. But at least a short chapter was on full public view for anyone to see.” His address, phone number, legal name, and other private information were blowing wherever the breeze took them.

“Car prowls (people cruising around looking into parked cars) were once for stealing stereos or other personal items. But more and more they yield much more valuable identity information,” according to Detective Bryan Somvia with Visalia Police Department’s Property Crimes Unit, “What we are seeing is more and more property crimes turning into later identity theft crimes.” So the lesson is: Leave no trace of your identity in your car.

Such casualness isn’t the only problem. Conscientious shredders who obliterate every trace of their identity on tossed-out records and mail may not realize that seemingly secure practices have pitfalls.

When Visalian Stephanie Hannock (named changed to protect her from further exposure) dropped payment on her electric bill in a trusty blue U.S. Postal Service collection box outside the main post office—a routine she practiced without incident for years—she thought little of it. Hannock thought her check was in the mail … because it was.

But she received a late notice from Southern California Edison followed by a letter from the Postal Service Inspector indicating that she may have been a mail theft victim. It was unclear whether she would then join the 9 million Americans who fall victim to identity theft each year. (The Federal Trade Commission received more than 313,000 identity theft complaints last year, but that represents only a fraction of the crimes, since most do not bother to report.)

“My fear was that my information, like checking account number, name, address, phone number, had perhaps been sold to another party,” Hannock says. Because she could not be certain, she had to endure the same hassles and respond as though her information had, in fact, been compromised—distributed, sold, or resold many times by one criminal to another, as is often the case in identity theft.

She contacted her bank to change her checking account number and have all checks stopped. “It was a huge inconvenience, but a precaution that was well worth the effort. I also ran a complete credit report to make sure no new cards had been opened under my name.” She now checks her credit report regularly, monitors her bank statements online, and faithfully keeps a manual running check register, since oftentimes, online statements are current, but not up-to-the-minute.

“I felt violated and was disappointed that this particular type of crime was becoming so prevalent that even I was affected by it. Don’t we all think we’re untouchable?” she asked. When someone’s identity is stolen, the effects can be very hard to forget. “Sadly, I’ve become a lot less trusting. Perhaps I was too naive in the past, but nonetheless, based on experiences I’ve had over the years with ordinary theft and now identity theft, I am not nearly as trusting. I am much more cautious when it comes to my mail: I take everything inside the post office instead of dropping it in the convenient blue box outside,” she says. Hannock says she now shreds everything with her name or address on it.

The hard-to-shake effects are not just psychological. Expunging financial effects from the credit report can take years, due in part to the sheer number of cases. And sometimes victims clear up their credit only to find that their data has fallen into new hands and the vicious cycle recurs. Additionally, the burden falls on the cardholder to prove that fraudulent activity was not of their own doing. So it is important to be persistent and diligent. And the sooner you catch transactions, loans, and new accounts opened in your name by criminals, the better.

For those who want a hedge against any chinks in your karma armor, here is what you need to know.

According to Mark Shelton, an expert on identity theft with Visalia-based Valley Business Bank, the main technological vulnerabilities are “phishing,” and “skimming,” while the old-school pitfalls are wallet theft or loss, as well as the mail theft that victimized Hannock.

Phishing. Phishing is the practice of trolling for suckers on the Web via mass e-mail, of playing the numbers. As Shelton says, “Phishing takes place often through e-mails that seem to be from a familiar source such as your credit card company or a bank, when in fact it is from a thief trying to get your information. It is important not to give out any information to anyone that you are not completely comfortable with. Banks and other institutions will not ask for social security numbers and other personal information through e-mail. They will only ask for this information on their secure Web sites.”

Ironically, online banking and bill paying has become more secure than standard mail, Shelton says. “A great deal of expense and effort in the banking industry has been taken to make banking sites secure. There is little issue with online banking services in terms of safety. They are very safe. It is better to use online bill pay for example than to send a check in the mail. It is safer, faster, more secure.”

But he warns that shopping online can still pose a hazard. “One has to be comfortable and familiar with where you are purchasing online. It is important to check your account the day after your purchase to make sure it was charged correctly,” he advises.

Skimming. If phishing is a game of statistics, skimming is more like one-on-one pickpocketing—with a high tech twist. “Skimming is when someone takes your credit or debit card from you for a legitimate purchase and ‘skims’ it through another devise to capture the information on the magnetic strip of your card,” Shelton says. “That person often works for someone else who buys that information from them. This type of activity (occurs) in places where you offer your card for payment and the transaction is done out of your sight, such as a restaurant.” So again, his advice is to be aware and comfortable with the person to whom you give your card. Skimming will not affect the transaction you just made, but the crooks will have captured your card information for later use. Impetuous criminals might circulate your information immediately; more clever ones might wait a month or more, knowing that you will be hard pressed to recall them after time has elapsed.

The Good News is the Bad News

Perhaps the main ray of hope for identity theft victims is the increasing number of cases. The sheer scope of the problem creates political and market pressure for legal and technological enhancements that are necessary to curb this rampant form of high-tech piracy.

For Stephanie Hannock, the only satisfaction came in hearing that the mother-son team who stole her check was apprehended. What does she have to say to them?

“I hope it was worth it.”

No comments