- Image by CarbonNYC via Flickr
Stopping Identity Theft: 10 Easy Steps to Security
by Reader’s Digest Magazine, on Thu Aug 12, 2010 Interviews by Michelle Crouch
Former identity thieves confess the tactics they use to scam you.
1. Watch your back. In line at the grocery store, I’ll hold my phone
like I’m looking at the screen and snap your card as you’re using it.
Next thing you know, I’m ordering things online-on your dime.
2. That red flag tells the mail carrier-and me-that you have outgoing
mail. And that can mean credit card numbers and checks I can reproduce.
3. Check your bank and credit card balances at least once a week. I can
do a lot of damage in the 30 days between statements.
4. In Europe, credit cards have an embedded chip and require a PIN,
which makes them a lot harder to hack. Here, I can duplicate the
magnetic stripe technology with a $50 machine.
5. If a bill doesn’t show up when it’s supposed to, don’t breathe a sigh
of relief. Start to wonder if your mail has been stolen.
6. That’s me driving through your neighborhood at 3 a.m. on trash day. I
fill my trunk with bags of garbage from different houses, then sort
later.
7. You throw away the darnedest things-preapproved credit card
applications, old bills, expired credit cards, checking account deposit
slips, and crumpled-up job or loan applications with all your personal
information.
8. If you see something that looks like it doesn’t belong on the ATM or
sticks out from the card slot, walk away. That’s the skimmer I attached
to capture your card information and PIN.
9. Why don’t more of you call 888-5-OPTOUT to stop banks from sending
you preapproved credit offers? You’re making it way too easy for me.
10. I use your credit cards all the time, and I never get asked for ID.
A helpful hint: I’d never use a credit card with a picture on it.
11. I can call the electric company, pose as you, and say, “Hey, I
thought I paid this bill. I can’t remember-did I use my Visa or
MasterCard? Can you read me back that number?” I have to be in
character, but it’s unbelievable what they’ll tell me.
12. Thanks for using your debit card instead of your credit card.
Hackers are constantly breaking into retail databases, and debit cards
give me direct access to your banking account.
13. Love that new credit card that showed up in your mailbox. If I can’t
talk someone at your bank into activating it (and I usually can), I
write down the number and put it back. After you’ve activated the card,
I start using it.
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- Identity Theft Protection (personalbudgeting.suite101.com)
- Early Warning Signs of Identity Theft (consumereducation.suite101.com)
- You: To protect yourself, think like an ID thief (washingtonpost.com)
- Identity Theft: How To Avoid It (forbes.com)
