Spring Break
Vigilance pivotal in preventing identity theft
Danelle Noonan
Issue date: 12/12/07 Section: News
Senior Mandy Ferber never thought she could be a victim of identity theft-until she checked her annual credit report and found a credit card that wasn't hers.
"I was applying for credit cards and getting turned down," she said. "I kept getting letters from Capital One saying they lost me as a customer, but I was never a customer."
Ferber said she decided to check her credit on www.AnnualFreeCreditReport.com this past month and found the fraudulent credit card. It had been used since 2006 without her knowledge.
"I called the police," Ferber said. "It's such a mess. I didn't know what to do."
After some investigation, the police discovered the identity thief was actually a former friend of Ferber's. Ferber believes the thief stole her information from thrown-away billing statements.
"Some people choose their victims carefully," she said. "[The thief] was my friend. Some will try to get close to you and gain your trust."
According to Denise Kaminski, branch manager of the UW Credit Union, around 70 percent of identity theft instances are by someone the victim knows.
"There are all kinds of ways criminals are getting information," Kaminski said. "They're getting more and more creative."
Kaminski recommends getting credit checked once a year. Annual credit scores can be checked for free on www.AnnualFreeCreditReport.com.
"Be careful and check up on your accounts," she said. "It's up to you to be vigilant. Cancel credit cards you don't use."
Ferber also recommends destroying any information before throwing it away.
"If you're going to throw away your statements, block out numbers," she said. "Or you can buy a paper shredder from Wal-Mart for $20. Shredding is best."
Ferber also said people should be wary when giving out account information online.
"One of my friends got her credit card number stolen on something like Amazon," she said.
The Federal Trade Commission estimates as many as 9 million Americans get their identities stolen each year, according to their Web site. The FTC advises that if you've had your identity stolen, you should file a police report right away, check your credit reports, notify the creditors and dispute any unauthorized transactions.
"I wish more people knew what to do because nobody knows," Ferber said.
Ferber said her best advice to her fellow students is to just be aware.
"People shouldn't be paranoid about it," she said. "Don't walk around being afraid people are going to steal your stuff. Just be aware of it."
Kaminski said the best thing a person can do to fight identity theft is protect their data and keep credit cards, check cards and account information in a safe place.
"It's more of an awareness-type thing, an understanding," Kaminski said. "People who are careful, who don't give out account information-it helps."
"I was applying for credit cards and getting turned down," she said. "I kept getting letters from Capital One saying they lost me as a customer, but I was never a customer."
Ferber said she decided to check her credit on www.AnnualFreeCreditReport.com this past month and found the fraudulent credit card. It had been used since 2006 without her knowledge.
"I called the police," Ferber said. "It's such a mess. I didn't know what to do."
After some investigation, the police discovered the identity thief was actually a former friend of Ferber's. Ferber believes the thief stole her information from thrown-away billing statements.
"Some people choose their victims carefully," she said. "[The thief] was my friend. Some will try to get close to you and gain your trust."
According to Denise Kaminski, branch manager of the UW Credit Union, around 70 percent of identity theft instances are by someone the victim knows.
"There are all kinds of ways criminals are getting information," Kaminski said. "They're getting more and more creative."
Kaminski recommends getting credit checked once a year. Annual credit scores can be checked for free on www.AnnualFreeCreditReport.com.
"Be careful and check up on your accounts," she said. "It's up to you to be vigilant. Cancel credit cards you don't use."
Ferber also recommends destroying any information before throwing it away.
"If you're going to throw away your statements, block out numbers," she said. "Or you can buy a paper shredder from Wal-Mart for $20. Shredding is best."
Ferber also said people should be wary when giving out account information online.
"One of my friends got her credit card number stolen on something like Amazon," she said.
The Federal Trade Commission estimates as many as 9 million Americans get their identities stolen each year, according to their Web site. The FTC advises that if you've had your identity stolen, you should file a police report right away, check your credit reports, notify the creditors and dispute any unauthorized transactions.
"I wish more people knew what to do because nobody knows," Ferber said.
Ferber said her best advice to her fellow students is to just be aware.
"People shouldn't be paranoid about it," she said. "Don't walk around being afraid people are going to steal your stuff. Just be aware of it."
Kaminski said the best thing a person can do to fight identity theft is protect their data and keep credit cards, check cards and account information in a safe place.
"It's more of an awareness-type thing, an understanding," Kaminski said. "People who are careful, who don't give out account information-it helps."
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Credit Monitoring
posted 10/14/08 @ 11:39 AM CST
I get similar mails almost daily and I don't know how to stop that, I read about this and I learned it's not recommendable to respond to those mails. Now I am searching for a good alternative to protect my ID. (Continued…)
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