How To Protect Yourself From Identity Thieves
The issue of identity theft proves to be of great importance. Considered one of the fastest growing crimes in America, the risk of falling prey to an identity thief increases by the day. All it takes to become a victim is carelessness.
Basic information, such as a home address and a phone number, to more private information like a social security number, is all that an identity thief needs in their possession to commit fraudulent crimes. One must remember to be careful when it comes to discarding documents that contain these pieces of information.
A devastating fact of identity theft is that victims may not know that their identity has been stolen until it is too late. Until an unusually high credit card bill is received or if an individual is thought to have committed a crime themselves, identity thieves run wild and ruin reputations. And when it is known that someone has become a victim of identity theft, the ordeal to correct the matter most certainly will be a long, costly and uncomfortable one.
Identity thieves are always evolving in their practices to dupe unsuspecting individuals. Throughout our communities, a growing practice to retrieve valuable personal information is via the telephone.
I have personally heard firsthand accounts of neighbors who have answered phone calls from so-called out-of-state lottery programs and more credible sounding organizations claiming that the individual has won a sweepstakes. The only way to retrieve the extravagant money prize, however, is to provide the caller with a bank account number in order for them to deposit the prize directly into their account as well as a small processing fee.
Thankfully, the majority of people will hang up the phone immediately, but there are those individuals that will be duped into the scam. It is our responsibility to identify the scam and proceed to contacting the police.
The best way to protect ourselves from identity theft is to be careful. Be conscious of the documents that contain your personal information, such as mail, credit card statements and bills, and the way that you discard of them. Simply put these documents through a shredder in order to render them unusable.
Secondly, always be skeptical of “too good to be true” propositions over the telephone or via email. Remember that if you did not enter a sweepstakes, there is no way that you could have been chosen its winner. Just simply hang up the phone without uttering a word.
When patronizing restaurants, try to pay in cash and always hold on to your credit cards.
Finally, identity theft is a growing crime epidemic in this country. As we continue to progress into the age of technology, we must remember to cover all bases when it comes to our personal information. Identity thieves, no matter how experienced, are always looking for opportunities to pounce on unsuspecting victims.
All it takes to protect yourself is a common sense approach. Make it your responsibility to not be an unsuspecting victim of identity theft.
Identity theft will be the focus of the next 104th Precinct Community Council meeting, which will take place on Wednesday night, Mar. 27, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Pancras Pfeifer Hall, located off the corner of Myrtle Avenue and 68th Street in Glendale.
Editor’s note: John Perricone is president of the 104th Precinct Community Council.
