Identity Theft. Goals. Technology Seminar December 8, 2015 Page

Transcription

1 Identity Theft Scott A. Turk Assistant State s Attorney Cyber/White-Collar Crime Division Goals Learn how to protect yourself from Identity Theft Learn how to protect your practice from Identity Theft Learn how to help your clients who have been victims of Identity Theft Learn how to advise your clients against becoming Identity Theft victims 1

2 You Can t Prevent It You Can Only Lower Your Chances By Raising Your Awareness Use Credit Instead Of Debit 2

3 Use Credit Instead Of Debit Pickpocketing or Purse snatching Still Occurs Mail Theft On The Rise Don t Cave Due To Pressure Shred Personal Information Ask Them How They Protect Your Information Credit Report Is Free 3

4 Order Credit Reports Three ways to order a credit report Online at go to Free Annual Credit Report Phone the FTC at Mail to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box , Atlanta, GA Credit Bureaus The three major credit bureaus are Equifax Experian Trans Union Only Provide If You Have To Keep A List To Remind Yourself Fast Response Can Limit Your Loss 4

5 Identity Thieves Know The Typical Pattern Malicious Programs Identity Theft The fraudulent acquisition and use of a person's private identifying information, usually for financial gain 5

6 My Former Boss LifeLock LifeLock 6

7 LifeLock Identity theft growing, costly to victims Identity thieves have learned that it's more lucrative to hack into businesses where they can steal card numbers by the thousands or even millions Various Ways Identity theft Takes Place swiping credit or debit cards at the cash registers Identity thieves use computer programs to infiltrate retail systems and begin siphoning off bank-card numbers when purchases are made. Point-of-sale system hacking is a serious and growing problem 7

8 What Identify Thieves Want User names, passwords and PIN numbers Social Security numbers Bank and credit account numbers Driver's license and passport numbers Insurance identification numbers Phishing Scams process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Amazon Scam LOOK FOR THE CLUES!!!! 8

9 Credit Card Scams ebay Scams Preventing Financial Crimes If someone makes an offer that seems too good to be true, assume that it is too good to be true! 9

10 Lottery Winner Scam LOOK FOR NEWLY INVENTED ENGLISH WORDS! Corporate &Banking Fraud Hacking Corporate &Banking Fraud Hacking BlackPOS Software 10

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12 Local Restaurants Identity Theft Growing Law Enforcement Response Police don't want to be bothered It's a difficult crime to investigate, and the feeling is, Oh, we're never going to catch these guys Gypsy Scams Knock on your door, say they were driving by and noticed that your driveway or roof needs work One person will knock on the door and distract the homeowner While at the front door, they may ask for more money, water something inside the residence or distract the victim to come outside Once the victim is distracted, co-offenders will go into the residence and search for valuables or currency 12

13 Discovering the Theft Eventually the exploitation is discovered when the victim Receives a bank statement with unknown transactions Finds newly created credit card accounts Tries to apply for a loan and is denied Is arrested for a crime committed by the thief when using the stolen identity What Can You Do? Awareness Education Common Sense Vigilance Identity Theft Prevention suggestions Beware of seemingly innocent personal facts that a thief could use to steal your identity For example, never list your full birthdate on Facebook or any other social-networking websites 13

14 Identity Theft Prevention suggestions Watch for charges for less than a dollar or two from unfamiliar companies or individuals. Thieves often first test to check that the accounts haven't been canceled by aware customers by sending a small charge through If the first charge succeeds, they'll make a much larger charge or purchase In addition, many of the fraud alerts you can set on your accounts aren't triggered by small dollar amounts Identity Theft Prevention suggestions If an ATM or store terminal looks funny, don't use it Make sure there is no device attached to any ATM card slot you use. If it looks different when you swipe your card, or has an extra piece of plastic sticking out from the card slot, it may be a skimmer, an electronic device that captures your credit card information when you swipe it Identity Theft Prevention suggestions If an ATM or store terminal looks funny, don't use it 14

15 Identity Theft Prevention suggestions If an ATM or store terminal looks funny, don't use it Be alert to strangers hovering around whenever you use a credit card at an ATM or phone, and avoid public wireless Internet connections Identity Theft Prevention suggestions Identity thieves are sneaky; you need to be sneaky, too Sign your credit card with a Sharpie so your signature can't be erased and written over Leave "Please Activate" sticker on Identity Theft Prevention suggestions Victim had all, but 1 credit card stolen The card that was spared still had the "Please Activate" sticker on it Victim had activated the card, but forgot to remove the sticker The thieves must have known that you have to activate a new card from the phone number listed with the credit card company, so they didn't bother with it Since then victim left the sticker on the cards When a thief struck a second time, victim s stickered cards were again left untouched 15

16 Pay attention at the checkout line If a salesperson takes your card and turns away or takes too long, they may be scanning your card into a handheld skimming terminal They can take a picture of the front and back of your card with a cell phone or merely swap out cards Look at your card when they hand it back and make sure it's yours, and not another card that looks like yours You may not notice they swapped your card for days Pay attention at the checkout line If a salesperson takes your card and turns away or takes too long, they may be scanning your card into a handheld skimming terminal They can take a picture of the front and back of your card with a cell phone or merely swap out cards Look at your card when they hand it back and make sure it's yours, and not another card that looks like yours You may not notice they swapped your card for days Pay attention at the checkout line Did the cashier ask if you wanted cash back? Did you say no? Did the cashier charge you for cash back anyhow? Are you sure? Did you look at your receipt while still at the store? 16

17 Go paperless in as many ways as possible Cut back on the mail you receive from banks and financial institutions by discontinuing paper bills and statements Access your financial statements at the issuer's website instead How do you send out mail with your or your client s information? Identity theft insurance can pay off, but you need to read the fine print Several companies offer identity theft insurance, which covers the money you shell out to repair your identity Includes money spent on phone calls, making copies of documents and mailing them, hiring an attorney, and in some cases, lost wages However, some insurance -- which costs about $50 a year -- does not reimburse you for funds you lost Medical Identity Theft Defined as the theft or unauthorized use of a person's personal information to obtain unauthorized medical goods and services 17

18 Medical Identity Theft Most people know that if their wallets are stolen, they need to call their credit card issuers and cancel their cards and their driver's licenses and debit cards Medical Identity Theft It might never occur to them to call their health insurance providers to report the theft of their health insurance identification cards Medical Identity Theft A thief can also steal your medical identity to run up tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills. Once your insurance company pays its portion, the balance will be charged to you 18

19 Medical Identity Theft Impact While medical identity theft is similar to financial identity theft, it's far more difficult to resolve Identity theft is often discovered early on the financial side because credit card issuers have sophisticated systems for detecting fraudulent use of credit cards Plus, nearly all financial institutions use one or more of the three credit reporting agencies Medical Identity Theft Impact There's not a centralized repository for medical records. To be able to have something like that could potentially reduce the risk of becoming a victim or reduce the recovery time The best chance for early detection of medical identity theft Do what hardly anyone does - - actually read the Explanation of Benefits, or EOB, statement that your insurance provider sends you after you've received covered treatment 19

20 The best chance for early detection of medical identity theft Look for the name of the provider, the date of service, and the service provided. Sometimes, the fraud is obvious The best chance for early detection of medical identity theft If it says Dr. John Smith performed surgery on you on Nov. 14 and you were on a Caribbean cruise that week, you know you're a victim The best chance for early detection of medical identity theft Look at your credit report. Most medical identity theft first shows up when the claim makes the transition to the billing department. If you have an unpaid medical bill on your credit report, that's a major clue that you're a victim 20

21 What to do if you're a victim First things first: Call the police and report it. You're a victim of fraud What to do if you're a victim Call your insurance company and ask for the fraud department. They'll shut down your health insurance account, issue you a new card, and help you work through the process of dealing with any bill collectors and correcting the erroneous information that's now on file about you Medicare Identity Theft 21

22 Medicare Identity Theft The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees the medical benefits programs, have studied a number of alternatives, including using a Medicare-specific ID number or just having the last four digits of the SSN on the card Other departments have taken measures to protect personal information The Pentagon finished replacing nearly 10 million military ID cards, translating the SSN into a bar code that made it more difficult to read In 2004, the Veterans Affairs Department completed a similar program to replace 8 million cards Identity theft sample letters CreditCards.com has assembled sample letters and a stepby-step guide to help identity theft victims clear their names and protect their credit Identity theft sample letters 22

23 Identity theft sample letters CreditCards.com If your debit or ATM cards have been compromised, call your bank and ask them to cancel the existing cards and issue you new ones If you have automatic payments set up with any merchants, notify them of your new card numbers If you do not report the fraud for debit cards quickly, you may be held liable for the loss Fill out the FTC's Identity Theft Affidavit form if a new account was opened in your name. This form is accepted by some businesses and creditors as a means to ensure you do not become responsible for debts you did not create File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission The commission will not investigate your case but will pass along your information to law enforcement officials and government agencies nationwide; this helps them observe criminal patterns and fight identity theft 23

24 Identity Theft Victim s Complaint & Affidavit 24

25 CreditCards.com Use the checklist to guide you through those processes 25

26 Other Identity Theft Scams Grandparent Scam Nigerian Prince IRS Other Identity Theft Scams Tech support scam Other Identity Theft Scams Lottery 26

27 Other Protection Methods Ask for a call-back number Go to actual website or call Don t call phone number Google the phone number Things Not To Do One Last Video 27

28 Questions? Lake County State s Attorney s Office 18 N. County, Waukegan, IL ASA Scott Turk 28