By

Carolyn Ellis

December, 2002

Keywords: Social Security Card, Credit Card Scammers, Internet Thieves, Dumpster Divers, Look-a-Likes, Family Members, Room Mates, Theft

The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 makes it a Federal crime when someone wrongfully takes and uses personal information of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable state or local law. Some states have passed a law making identity theft a crime. According to the Federal Trade Commission, this crime is growing so fast that law enforcement agency cannot keep up. The U.S. Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Social Security Administration’s Inspector General investigate violations of the law. Federal identification theft cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice and conviction carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment, a fine, and forfeiture of any personal property used or intended to be used to commit the crime (Bernstein, pg. 55).

The Social Security program was introduced during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt during 1935. This number was first issued to track earnings in order to calculate retirement benefits (www.2facts.com). At that time critics and observers expressed a concern that the card would be used for something other than the initial purpose. Experts say despite provisions in the Social Security Act prohibiting the use of the number for other purposes, the Social Security number has in effect become a national identifier. Most federal agencies, as well as state and local agencies use this number to identify Americans.

The Social Security Number is used as a form of identification and is necessary for enrollment and participation in certain schools and groups. Before enrolling into kindergarten a Social Security Number is required for verification. It is also a requirement by Universities on enrollment application and is used as campus identification enabling you to enter certain building, participate in school activities, attend home games without charge, and so forth. A Social Security Number is a requirement to apply for any form of financial aid. (UAM Admission Office) A Social Security Number is also used when applying for certain groups requiring background checks.

All initial banking transactions require a Social Security Number when setting up accounts. The majority of the creditors require a Social Security Number in order to process you application.

Upon employment, you are required to complete new employee’s paperwork including the W-4. This information is used by various agencies from that day forward (medical, social security benefits, unemployment, IRS).

Most hotels require a credit card when making reservations in order to guarantee late arrival and your identification when checking-in. All auto rental providers require identification when renting a vehicle, whether you are paying by cash or charge.

Most medical providers also require a patient’s Social Security Number. Physicians’ office intake, hospital admittance, and pharmacist initial forms normally require this number as part of identification. This enables them to correctly identify a patient, even when patients have the same name, needing medial assistance and for insurance processing purposes; while at the same time an identification thief realizes the sky is the limit with this information (www.mygeneration.org).

According to the internet source www.mygeneration.org article, My Generation, Stolen Identity, the common techniques for collecting personal information include stealing wallets or handbags, tax information, and mail (especially pre-approved credit-card offers).

Pickpockets work in teams with someone creating a distraction allowing another to steal from the victim. Some of the scams to look-out for are as follow. Someone bumping into you in a very crowded area; spilling something on you; tripping, falling, or dropping something in front of you. Some other scams are groups of individuals, including children, swarming you with newspapers, or trinkets, and begging for money. Another unexpecting scam is someone being unusually friendly at bars and clubs (www.eventsecurity.com).

A theft, when referring to credit cards, is often thought of as a purse-snatcher or pocket picker, but now there are easier methods of stealing. Credit card scams are used in department stores daily. One of the latest scams, according to KOMO4 News in Seattle and other sources, is while shopping the potential thief calls the clerk from a cell phone while the victim is checking out, claiming to be store security. He describes the victim to the clerk and asks the clerk to read off the information from the transaction (card number, bank number, name, address, and any other vital information) and guess what the thief has the victim’s banking information. A Social Security Number is the primary identification required in opening an account and any variation of a name, address, place of employment, age, or spouse name will be accepted without a challenge (Consumers’ Research Magazine, June 2000, pg. 26-28). The Bureau of Consumer Protection acknowledges that merchants do not like the idea of stricter controls on personal information because tighter credit might mean fewer sales (Claburn, pg. 30).

Co-workers can retrieve or simply take a check stub from a desk, check book from a purse, credit card, and credit card statements, or become a close personal friend and deceive you.

Identification can be unexpectantly stolen from by anyone. Internet thieves have it made because so much personal information is available to them by clicking a few buttons and maneuvering the web. This information is used by thieves as well as sold to others for their personal use. Credit reports are supposed to be private, but credit companies will you’re your information to buyers. In 1997, Visa reported $490 million lost to fraud (Judson, 2000, p. 70). Completing a credit application on the Internet can be the worst form of handing out personal identification information. It is difficult to know if an online creditor is legitimate or a con artist.

Dumpster Divers are another group that takes personal identification unknowingly from victims. A dumpster diver is someone that goes through trash, dumpster, and landfills retrieves personal information and uses it to establish identification or perform credit card theft (www.mygeneration.org/departments/2002/business). Some divers have been known to use corporate information to order large amounts of products or expensive items and have delivered to an address that is not traceable to the thief.

Look-alikes are another group of identity thieves. Famous people’s (such as Tiger Woods, Ross Perot, and Oprah Winfrey to name a few) identity has been stolen. According to an article "Who Else Might Be You"; 500,000 to 700,000 Americans became victims last year (Claburn, pg. 30). These persons accept the mistaken recognition by consumers, who never ask for identification, and begin to live the life of the person they portray. The identity thief begins participating in such actions as dining at expensive restaurants, shopping on Fifth Avenue, staying in Five-star hotels.

"Family members" and "roommates" are thieves that it takes a longer period of time to realize and understand that it could have possibly happened. Family members normally take advantage of the elderly and young. Some of the reasons given have been for personal gain (purchase expensive items, open credit cards), order utilities (due to delinquent utility bills for various reasons past accounts can not be reconnected), gain employment (sometime due to past history one may try to prevent potential employer from discovering past history), and sometime family and room mates use your identification when running into the law with such matters as traffic violations, drunken brawl, and public disturbance; and think little of it at the time. Persons have been known to spend nights in jail after being arrested on warrants due to identification theft (Clark, pg. 80-85). Although the victim may be cleared of all offenses, it will take months or years to remove what has happen from various records. According to the Federal Trade Commission, there were 26,813 identity theft complaints in 2000, of which 1,581 involved family members and in 2001, there were 70,540 complaints with 3,900 involving family members (Dreazen, pg. 1).

If you realize you are a victim a few basic steps to take are as follows: Order your credit reports once a year from each of the three national credit bureaus. 1. Equifax (800-685-1111), TransUnion (800-888-4213), Experian (888-397-3742). 2. Call the fraud departments of each bureau. 3. Contact credit grantors involved and notify them of theft. 4. Contact your local police and file a report. 5. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. And most of all remember, don’t be careless with your personal information (www.privacyrights.org ).

Do not pay any bill or portion of it if it is a result of fraud. Do not cover any checks that were written or cashed fraudulently. Do not file bankruptcy. No legal action should be taken against you. If any merchant, financial company or collection agency suggests otherwise report such attempts to government regulators (www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a ).

The Federal Trade Commission states in the September 2000 issue of USA Today, article, Protect Yourself Against Identification Theft, Don’t carry your Social Security card in your wallet". A few things to do in order to guard your good name are as follow: get copies of your credit report, remove your name from marketing lists, request an alternate driver’s license number, and do not be careless with your 9-digit Social Security number. Identity theft became a federal crime in 1998. Forty-seven states have passed their own anti-identity-theft laws. Only about 35,000 cases were reported in 1992, but by 1999 a study revealed that 13 percent of Americans had become a victim (www.mygeneration.org). The June 2000 Consumers’ Research Magazine stated it best, "Treat your number with the same respect and handling as a classified document".

Bernstein, J. (September 2000). Protect Yourself Against Identification Theft, USA Today, New York, pp. 54-55

Claburn, T. (December 2001/January 2002). Who Else Might Be You? SmartBusiness, pp. 30-31

Dreazen, Y. J. (July 31, 2002). Identity Theft as an Inside Job is Increasing Wall Street Journal Abstracts, section B; p1, col. 5

Friedman, S. & Roth, D. (April 2000). Who Ripped Off My Name and Ruined My Life? Glamour, New York, pp. 212-217

Judson, K. (2000). Computer Crime. Berkeley Heights, New Jersey

Mannix, M., (November 12, 2001). Stolen Names, Stolen Lives, U.S. News & World Report, Washington, pp.40-41

Stevens, J. T., Jr. (June 2000). Someone Stole My Social Security Number, Consumers’ Reasearch Magazine, pp.26-28

(March 7, 2000). Targets Retail Shoppers. KOMO4 News-Seattle.

(2002, November). Pick Pocket & Theft Alerts, Werth, R. P. Available: http://www.eventsecurity.com/alerts/alert2.htm

(2001, December). National Identification Cards. Available: http://www.2facts.com

(2002, September). Stolen Identity. Available:

http://www.mygeneration.org/departments/2002/business/0110_a.html

(2002 September). Identity Theft Available: http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/identity_theft.html

(2002 September). Identity Theft Scam. Available: http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/identity_theft.html\

(2002 September). Identity Theft: What to Do if it Happens to You. Available: http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a.htm

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