In today’s world of electronic bill pay, ATM withdrawals and e-mail hackers, most people have to protect themselves against identity theft.
To that end, the Richmond Hill Block Association (RHBA), at its latest meeting on Wednesday, September 24, hosted guest speaker Detective Richard Providence of the Identity Theft Task Force from the NYPD Special Frauds Unit.
“The crime [identity theft] has been around for a very long time, but it didn’t have a name until November 2002,” he explained.
Defined under the penal code as “When a person knowingly and with intent to fraud assumes [another] person’s identity . . . [and] causes financial loss to another.” Providence explained that identity thieves will take anything they can get - a Social Security number, name, address, date of birth, even the number on the bottom of a check.
“[Your Social Security card is] the number one piece of identification that a thief wants,” said the detective.
The best defense is to leave it at home, he said.
There are a number of ways thieves can steal your identity - and your piece of mind - Providence told the crowd:
A trend that Providence made the audience aware of is “phishing,” a method by which ID thieves send out spam or pop-up messages, posing as financial institutions, in order to get personal information.
And for those who make ATM withdrawals, Providence warned against “skimming,” which is when perps use a small device that memorizes the magnetic strip on the back of credit or debit cards.
Each unit, he said, can hold the information from over 100 cards. Once downloaded, new cards are made.
“Skimming” devices can fit right over ATMs.
“I suggest you give it a little tug,” Providence said, to see if a skimmer is in place at your ATM.
So what can you do to protect yourself?
“Your best defense if to check your credit every quarter,” he explained.
“The law requires the major nationwide consumer reporting companies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - to give you a free copy of your credit report each year if you ask for it,” according to a pamphlet from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Other safeguards include shredding documents, never giving out personal information over the phone, mail or Internet, and never clicking on links sent in unsolicited emails.
Indications that you might be a victim of ID theft, according to the FTC, are bills that do not arrive on time, unexpected credit card or account statements, denials of credit for no apparent reason and calls or letters about purchases you did not make.
For more information on the crime of identity theft, call 877-ID-THEFT or visit FTC.GOV/IDTHEFT.
The next meeting of the RHBA will be held on October 29. For more information, call 718-849-3759.
