Identity theft has become so prevalent that there are frequent television programs and magazine articles with case histories and warnings. Think it can't happen to you? Guess again. Grandboomers are a prime target. Why? We've got assets, we travel, have more medical appointments, do more shopping...all items that lead us to use credit cards and to have to give our social security number and other personal information to complete strangers.
Both my husband and I have been victims. In my case, someone halfway across the country got a cellphone by using my personal information. I found out about it when we got a call looking for $6,000 in past due bills. My husband got a call from a utility company thousands of miles away looking for payment on an electricity account. The person used his identity to get credit. In both situations we had to file police reports, call the credit bureaus, and even contact the federal government consumer protection agency.
What can be done? The government recommends the following:
* Don't give out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or on the Internet unless you initiated the contact and are sure who you are dealing with. Identity thieves are clever and pose as representatives of institutions you do business with to steal your information.
* Deposit your outgoing mail in a post office mail box or at the post office itself rather than leave it in your mail box for pickup. If you're going to be away from home, have your mail held at the post office until you return.
* Buy a shredder and shred bills, medical, insurance, and other personal information. Even shred those charge card offers you get in the mail. They have your name imprinted on the application. Easy pickings for a thief.
* Do not carry your social security card on your person. Leave it in a safe place. Do not write or have your social secuity number printed on your checks.
* Give your social security number only when absolutely necessary. See if another form of identification will do.
* Carry only the identification and credit cards with you that you intend to use that day.
* Be extremely cautious responding to promotions. Thieves use phony promotions to get your information.
* Keep your purse or wallet in a safe place at work
* When ordering new checks, pick them up at your bank rather than having them mailed.
* Get virus protection software for your computer and keep it updated to protect you from intrusions and infections that can lead to the compromise of your computer files or passwords.
* Do not open files sent to you by strangers, or click on hyperlinks or download programs from people you don't know. Opening these files may expose you to spyware. You can also put a program on your computer to check for and eliminate spyware.
* Use a firewall to protect your computer from uninvited access, especially if you have a cable, DSL or T-1 connection.
* Use a secure browser, one that encrypts or scrambles information you send over the Internet. When submitting such information, look for the "lock" icon on the browser's status bar to be sure your information is secure during transmission.
* Try not to store financial information on your computer...especially a laptop. If you do, use a complicated password to gain access to the information.
* Before you dispose of a computer, delete all personal information. Doing this through mouse commands or reformatting the hard drive may not be sufficient. Use a "wipe" utility program.
While these are good precautions you can take, Grandboomers, based on our personal experience, would call on companies that are issuing credit to also exercise caution. For example, in both our cases, a simple check of our addresses would have raised a red flag that the person applying for credit had an address many states away. Contacting us to confirm the information before issuing credit would have stopped the thieves in their tracks. Companies should also go after thieves. The way it stands now, and we were told this by one of the companies involved in our case, it is considered "the cost of doing business". It may cost them more at the outset to prosecute these people, but it will save them (and us) in the long run.
You can also contact the three major credit services and have them put a flag on your account stating you need personal contact before any new account is opened. This feature is free if you renew it every three months. For a small fee, they will flag your account for a full year.
This has been one of our longer Grandboomers articles. But it is a very important topic.
© 2012 Created by Myles Bristowe.
