Security Check for the Holidays, or "How to be Safe when Shopping"

It’s the holiday shopping season—Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and countless other opportunities for you to share your personal financial information with the world. How many times have you read about friends, family, or someone you don’t even know be victimized by a loss of their financial security through identity (ID) theft? Every day, thousands of men and women have their credit cards, bank accounts, and other personal and financial information stolen or compromised.

In a report issued by IDology, 66% of organizations reported suspected fraud attempts within a year– 35% of respondents stated an increase in these attempts. Today, there seems to be a perfect storm for potential fraud – and, it is up to you to put the right processes and systems in place to prevent it. As more and more organizations expand their online business and more and more users share their information both on and offline, it is practically easier than ever for fraudsters to get hold of sensitive information. Major ID theft has been reported by large international retail and other organizations including Target, Yahoo, and the US Government. And, it’s getting worse every year.

How do they use that information? IDology discovered that 78% of suspected fraud attempts occur in website applications. The fraudster steals your personal information and then targets businesses operating in a customer-not-present environment (mainly online or in a call-center). After all, as the fraudster believes…how does the organization REALLY know that they aren’t who they say they are?

The U.S. Department of Justice and Javelin Strategy and Research annually report statistics on identity theft and the numbers are staggering.

• The average number of U.S. identity fraud victims annually equate to 11,571,900.
• The average financial loss per identity theft incident is $4,930.
• Total financial loss attributed to identity theft in 2014 equated to $16 billion.
• Total victims attributed to identity theft in 2014 equates to 12.7 million.

In today’s digital age, the possibility of you or your business becoming victim to identity theft is a very real and serious threat. Thieves looking to steal identities are becoming increasingly more adept in their ways and the results can wreak widespread havoc both personally and for the corporations targeted. There are many ways that thieves can obtain personally identifiable information on your customers that can be used to trigger a fraudulent transaction:

• Physical theft: Smart phones, laptops, tablets and wallets will typically hold everything needed for a thief to easily take over an identity.
• Mailbox raiding and dumpster diving: Mail and trash can prove to be quite lucrative to an identity thief who “stumbles” upon information from banks, credit card institutions, and even utility bills. The information provided in these types of documents can hold all that is needed for your customer’s identity to be stolen.
• Phishing: Identity thieves can use very well thought out and carefully crafted fraudulent emails to try and trick the unsuspecting victim into releasing valuable information.
• Vishing: Much like phishing attempts, vishing is the attempt at getting an individual to release personal information through the telephone by pretending to be someone at an institution needing to verify their personal information.
• Spyware/Malware: Spyware and Malware are two types of malicious computer software that can be downloaded on to a computer with the intent of gathering sensitive information from the unknowing user.
• Skimming: Skimming is the act of an identity thief using a small electronic device that can be attached to anything that may be used to swipe an ATM or credit card. When an individual swipes their card at a gas pump or even an ATM machine, the skimming device can read all the relevant data needed to easily steal the card owner’s information.

Account takeover fraud continues to increase at alarming rates, being driven by ongoing data breaches, undisciplined consumers and organized fraudsters intentionally targeting existing accounts, according to IDAnalytics. Many organizations are adding technologies and analytics to better protect multi-channel account access, which are sound measures but inadequate alone.

According to LifeLock, and industry leader in ID theft protection, there are several ways to guard your identity:

1. Watch your credit score: If a thief got a hold of your personal information, how would you know? One way is to keep a close eye on your credit report and watch for changes in your score. You can do that online at www.annualcreditreport.com , or www.creditkarma.com .

2. Don't share your personal information: Before providing any personal information, especially at doctors' offices and other places of business, ask why the information is needed. Accidental disclosures on the business end can put you at risk for identity theft.

3. Lock up your government IDs: Lost or stolen identification are increasingly difficult to replace. When not in use, store your government-issued identification (Social Security Card, Passport) in a safe place, preferably not on your person.

4. Shred and destroy your documents: Dumpster diving is a proven method for thieves to gain access to your personal information by stealing discarded information. Shred it and forget it.

5. Guard your mail: Protect your mailbox from thieves by replacing unlocked versions with a secure model. This simple task helps to reduce the chances of mail theft. As an added precaution, place your mail on hold while you travel.

6. Shop smart: Online shopping provides many conveniences, but be sure to look for a security seal and https in the URL when it comes time to enter any personal information. This quick check can help stop you from being phished and disclosing your identity on a counterfeit website.

7. Strengthen your passwords: Changing your passwords often and using numbers, symbols, and uppercase letters can help protect you and your accounts from being hacked.

8. Stay alert (Skimming, Shoulder Surfers, Strange ATMs, Phishing, SMSishing, Vishing): High-tech thieves are busy coming up with inventive ways to get at your personal information, including skimming your credit card during check out, shoulder surfing to snap a picture of your account, and phishing for your identity via email, websites, texting, or phone calls.

9. Protect your children's information: These days, you are not the only person in your family at risk. More and more youth identities are being stolen so that thieves can commit employment or benefit-related fraud and get away with it for years before you even realize it.

So what happens if your ID gets stolen, and you don’t have a protection plan in place? You can believe that there are going to be many hours of lost sleep and lost productivity as you work on regaining your good name and reputation. One important plan of action would be to hire a legal service or attorney to help you in your efforts to contact credit agencies and companies reporting on you.

Although individual lawyers who specialize in ID theft restoration may be costly, there is much to be said about the help that they can provide. You definitely need a professional to help you through the legal morass that can envelope you when you are attempting to restore your credit ratings, good name, and financial losses that you incur when your identity is stolen.

Companies such as Legal Access Plan and InfoArmor can help you with access to identity theft coaches. In the event that you believe your identity has been compromised, you have access to ID theft coaches that walk you through the recovery process if necessary. Counselors provide connections to information, FTC affidavits, referrals for legal representation if needed, assessments and resources.

Also, they provide access to local practicing attorneys. If you become a victim of ID Theft, and an ID theft coach discovers it necessary for the assistance of an attorney, you are referred to a local practicing network attorney that has experience in these types of issues. Typically, the attorney charges a fee at a pre-determined discounted hourly rate to ease the pain of assisting in ID recovery.

Additionally, according to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), there are some things you can do on your own. Under the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act , the Federal Trade Commission is responsible for receiving and processing complaints from people who believe they may be victims of identity theft, providing informational materials to those people, and referring those complaints to appropriate entities, including the major credit reporting agencies and law enforcement agencies. For further information, please check the FTC's identity theft web pages . You can also call your local office of the FBI or the U.S. Secret Service to report crimes relating to identity theft and fraud. You may also need to contact other agencies for other types of identity theft:

1. Your local office of the Postal Inspection Service if you suspect that an identity thief has submitted a change-of-address form with the Post Office to redirect your mail, or has used the mail to commit frauds involving your identity;

2. The Social Security Administration if you suspect that your Social Security number is being fraudulently used;

3. The Internal Revenue Service if you suspect the improper use of identification information in connection with tax violations.

The DOJ also suggests you contact all the fraud units of the three principal credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Contact all creditors with whom your name or identifying data have been fraudulently used. For example, you may need to contact your long-distance telephone company if your long-distance calling card has been stolen or you find fraudulent charges on your bill.

Contact all financial institutions where you have accounts that an identity thief has taken over or that have been created in your name but without your knowledge. You may need to cancel those accounts, place stop-payment orders on any outstanding checks that may not have cleared, and change your Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card, account, and Personal Identification Number (PIN).

Contact the major check verification companies if you have had checks stolen or bank accounts set up by an identity thief. In particular, if you know that a particular merchant has received a check stolen from you, contact the verification company that the merchant uses. And, much more information about this subject is available on the DOJ website: www.justice.gov. Just search for ID theft as your key words.

Remember that your identity is critical to maintain your financial security and your name. When that has been compromised, you can bet that your life is in for a whole new series of challenges until it’s fixed. Seek professional guidance, and be diligent about your business and personal life. Be smart about your transactions and any social media that you use. Identity thieves are constantly looking for victims. Unfortunately, many people make it way too easy, then wonder how it could happen to them. Do your job, so others aren’t able to do theirs. Keep calm, and stay secure.

Don’t let the hackers and criminals ruin your Holidays. Even though companies are obligated by law to keep your info secure, it’s up to you to make sure your personal information is kept whole. Keep the Season happy and trouble free by paying attention to when and where you use your credit cards and any other private financial information. Your expression, especially this time of year, should be “Ho, Ho, Ho”, not “Woe, Woe, Woe”!