Autumn 2008: Protect Yourself From Identity Theft

by Richard J. Colangelo, Esq., Senior Assistant State’s Attorney

Identity theft occurs when someone steals personal identifying information, such as name, address, social security number, date of birth, or mother’s maiden name, to gain access to a person’s financial accounts. With this information, anyone can open new credit or bank accounts, apply for loans, rent an apartment, or set up utility or phone service in someone else’s name.

You can protect yourself by protecting your information. Don't give out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or on the Internet unless you've initiated the contact or are certain you know with whom you are dealing. Identity thieves are clever, and have posed as representatives of banks, Internet service providers (ISPs), and even government agencies to get people to reveal identifying information. Before you share any personal information, confirm that you are dealing with a legitimate organization. Check an organization's website by typing its URL in the address line, rather than cutting and pasting it. Many companies post scam alerts when their name is used improperly. Or, call customer service using the number listed on your account statement or in the telephone book.

Place passwords on your credit card, bank, and phone accounts. Avoid using easily available information like your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your Social Security number or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers. When opening new accounts, you may find that many businesses still have a line on their applications for your mother's maiden name. Ask if you can use a password instead.

Secure personal information in your home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help, or are having work done in your home.

Be cautious when responding to promotions. Identity thieves may create phony promotional offers to get you to give them your personal information.

Before you dispose of a computer, delete all the personal information it stored. Deleting files using the keyboard or mouse commands or reformatting your hard drive may not be enough. You must use a "wipe" utility program to overwrite the entire hard drive.

Some companies offer insurance or similar products that claim to give you protection against the costs associated with resolving an identity theft case. Be aware that most creditors will only deal with you to resolve problems, so the insurance company in most cases will not be able to reduce that burden. As with any product or service, make sure you understand what you're getting before you buy. If you decide to buy an identity theft insurance product, check out the company with your local Better Business Bureau, consumer protection agency and state Attorney General to see if they have any complaints on file. Take action now to protect your identifying information, and save yourself months or years of work untangling the mess caused by an identity thief.

You should routinely monitor your credit report and financial information. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the major nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit reports, at your request, once every 12 months.

To order your free annual report from one or all the national consumer reporting companies, visit www.annualcreditreport.com , call toll-free 877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. You can print the form from ftc.gov/credit.

Cacace, Tusch & Santagata thanks Attorney Colangelo, who is Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Colangelo in Geographical Area No. 1 at Stamford, for contributing this timely article to this issue of Case-by-Case.