Methods of identity theft and ways of preventing it from happening were presented at a lecture by Brett Joseph and Paul Colchamiro of Oppenheimer and Co. on Wednesday, July 15 in the VIP Room. The lecture was led by FBI Supervisory Special Agent Richard J. Jacobs, who covers the White Collar Crimes Unit of Long Island.
“Everyone in this room is potentially at risk for identity theft,” Joseph said prior to giving Jacobs the floor.
Jacobs said that the lecture was important for two reasons. One, he believes, is that “the most effective way to prevent fraud is through education.” The second is that “senior citizens are the most targeted segment of the population for con men…You are a high-risk segment.”
He went on to detail the four most common schemes that con men use to defraud people – investment schemes, sweepstakes, Nigerian schemes and general identity theft.
Investment schemes, he said, involve stocks and potential Ponzi schemes, such as “the one that Bernie Madoff perpetrated recently,” a “variety of private investment schemes that may involve partnerships in oil and gas,” or real estate ventures. These schemes are centered on the idea that, if a person invests, they will make a lot of money in return.
Red flags that individuals should be aware of include cold calling with high-pressure sales tactics, guarantees of very little risk, promises of stable and/or substantial profits, and unclear investment strategies.
“If you don’t understand it,” Jacobs said, “don’t invest in it.”
He also added that if someone is unaware of the person they are speaking to or the name of the firm, they should not invest. Do not give a lot of information – name, e-mail address, and social security number – up front either, he said.
Lottery scams involve a person finding out that they won a certain sum of money in a foreign lottery. The catch is that they didn’t enter one (unless the person bought a lottery ticket on their own accord). Another thing to be on the lookout for is people who are willing to give a person the winning lottery numbers if they are willing to pay for it.
Nigerian scams are named for the country they originated in.
“There are a number of variations on this,” Jacobs said, because there are people who just sit around and come up with new versions for a living.
A potential victim receives an official-looking letter or e-mail saying that the writer has some money coming to him, but he needs a third-party account to put it into. They promise that if the person provides a bank account, they’ll cut them in on the profits. But they don’t end up cutting the person in; they clean out their bank account instead.
Jacobs concluded with identity theft and how people manage to get a person’s information to begin with.
“They will go through your garbage and look for your documents,” he said.
Other methods include looking over a person’s shoulder when they are filling out paperwork and stealing mail from their mailbox. Individuals can also be called or e-mailed in attempted phishing, where people claim they work at the person’s bank and say the need their information because they think someone defrauded their account. There’s also skimming, where machines that look like credit card scanners are used to record someone’s information if they put their credit card down. These can also be attached to automated teller machines.
It is highly recommended that people buy a paper shredder to destroy their confidential papers and be very wary when giving out information online. Jacobs also suggested that people check their credit reports with the three credit card bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TrasUnion.
“What we suggest is you get a report from one of those agencies every four months. That way, three times a year, you can check your credit,” Jacobs said.
