Once you try to log into their site with your legitimate credentials, you’re screwed. You’re screwed because they will have captured all the information they need to pretend to be you for just long enough to either steal your money or set up their systems in order to steal your money.

What’s unfortunate is that we’re usually pretty aware of this type of stuff when it comes to banking. A strange email from “Bank of America” is going to set off our fraud radar but a similar one from Twitter or Facebook might not. A lot of social sites send a barrage of notification emails for when people send you a message, when someone adds you as a friend, or when you need to do something in a game. The deluge of email can lower our guard and someone trying to steal your Facebook account might sneak through. While losing your Facebook account is not as bad as losing your bank account, there are still costs to losing it as the thief might pretend to be you and ask your friends for money (the classic “I was traveling in London and was mugged, please wire me money!”).

How do you identify a phishing attack? First, use an email service that has the ability to identify the sender of emails. Gmail, which is 100% free, will tell you if they think the sender’s information (who the emailer says he is) doesn’t match the email header’s information (which computers the email has passed through). Alternatively, if you are computer savvy, you can view the headers yourself for anything strange.

Next, never click on a link in an email. If it’s from Bank of America, go to the Bank of America website. If it’s Citi, go to the Citi website. You might have to jump through a few hoops to find the source but it’ll be worth it.

Finally, phishing goes beyond emails, thieves are also known to call or text you. If someone does call you, the best option is to call them back through the company’s Customer Service number. Ask them for a transaction ID or a call ID number they can reference to speed up the process (if it’s fraud, they usually assign some number). If you think it’s really them, make them authenticate themselves with your information. If they really are with the company, they will have that information. If they aren’t, they’ll probably hang up (remember, it’s a volume business).

In the end, the safest way to interact with a company is to call them directly yourself. If you suspect something is wrong, give them a call and you can sort it out. This will take some extra time but it’s far less than what you would spend if you were the victim of a phishing attack.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/phishing.htm

Identity theft protection services usually have two components – theft prevention services and theft repair services.

When it comes to theft prevention services, they aren’t doing anything you could do yourself. The question becomes whether or not the service fees, which can run $20-30 a month at some places, is “worth it.” If it takes you several hours to complete the same tasks, including setting up reminders, it might be worth it to pay someone else to do it. If it takes you an hour and it’s an hour you’d be spending watching television, then it might not be. In order to really do the tradeoff, let’s see what you would have to do to get similar results.

Do It Yourself Protection

The main thing that id theft services do on your behalf is freeze your credit reports. By freezing your report, no company can access your report and, subsequently, make a credit decision. This stops all credit card offers in their tracks because they know nothing about you. You can freeze your credit report yourself and it won’t be free (neither will “thawing” it), but it’ll be cheaper than the id services.

This stops new offers from coming along but it won’t stop offers from your existing relationships (if you have a Citi card, Citi might send you more offers since it has your payment history with the first card). To stop those, you need to call the company and ask to be removed from their marketing lists.

Finally, it might not come as much of a surprise but companies will offer you credit cards even if they know nothing about you (surprise!). To stop those offers from happening, you can register at OptOutPrescreen.com.

Now that you’ve stopped incoming offers, it’s time to “monitor.” You can use a combination of free credit score services like Credit Karma (TransUnion partnership) and Credit Sesame (Experian partnership) to keep tabs on your credit report. They give you credit bureau scores, not FICO scores, but you can use it as a way to monitor any changes to your credit report. A sudden drop or rise might indicate a need to review it in greater detail. Both are free.

Theft Repair Services

Here is where it gets tricky because theft repair services only come into play after your identity has been stolen. I’ve never had my identity stolen but I have had to repair erroneous listings on my report (there was an extra social security number, address, and cell phone account) and that took a couple hours to fix. I had to contact the bureau, they had to tell me what documentation I needed to refute the listing, I had to collect that information and fax it to them. All told it was about two hours plus the waiting time for them to review the documents – and it was a minor case (I wouldn’t even call it theft).

You can think of the id theft protection service plans as insurance, since in theory they will handle the clean up. Is an insurance policy worth the monthly service price?

Your tax return contains all the personal information a thief would need to steal your identity – your address and your social security number. It also contains information about your family, such as your spouse and any dependents, as well as their social security numbers. If includes the names of the banks and brokerages you use, those are included as 1099s, as well as roughly how much is in each of those accounts (they can assume an interest rate and calculate your balances based on the reported interest). They will know if you own or rent where you live, as well as several other details based on the deductions you claim.

Your tax return contains a frightening amount of information about you and while mailing your return is 99.999% safe, why take the risk when you can e-file and get all the other benefits? E-filing is smart on a number of levels and with the scary statistics involving identity theft, you might as well reduce your risk when it’s as simple as this.

(Photo: davidreber)

It’s amazing how little stolen credit card information is worth but it’s a sign that fraud protections in the United States are very strong. Kaspersky Lab analysts found a price listing, back in 2009, which listed US Visa cards were worth only $2, whereas German credit cards were valued at $6. (link)

Amazing right?

Finally, when you do buy a cross cut shredder, be sure to pick up a small jar of shredder oil and lubricant so you can keep it running in tip top shape.

Thieves are able to get away with it because children never apply for credit, children don’t review their credit reports once every twelve months, and it’s typically not discovered until the family starts receiving collection notices for debts they never knew about!

The Identity Theft Resource Center has a fact sheet to help explain the problem and how you can fix it. Ultimately, the best solution is to review your children’s credit reports regularly, as you do your own, to detect it as early as possible.

There are two types of skimmers:

• Cameras: A microscopic camera capable of capturing your card’s visual information, like your name, your card number, the expiration date, and your PIN when you enter it on the keypad.
• Magnetic capture: A device that sits on top of the card scanner that captures your card’s magnetic information, which includes all the visual data and more.

How do you protect yourself from these devices? Unfortunately, the only reliable way to do so is by being familiar with how the unit is supposed to look normally. There are a few other tips to help you become less susceptible to skimmers:

• Do not use unfamiliar ATMs, you don’t know what they look like normally so it’s difficult to determine if there’s a skimmer attached.
• Do not use unsecure ATMs. Thieves are less likely to attach a skimmer to a unit inside the bank itself, as entry would require them to swipe a card. That doesn’t mean it’s possible though, as any credit card gives you access to typically “secure” bank ATM locations and thieves have likely stolen cards in the past.
• Become familiar with different types of card scanners. The ones you see at a gas pump, that stick out, are generally called “dip scanners” and require you to insert and remove the card. Many bank ATMs have motorized scanners that take your card and ejects it when it’s done. If you see a dip scanner where you expect a motorized capture scanner, use another ATM.
• Regularly review your accounts for fraud. You have consumer protections against fraud if you catch them in time, so be sure to stay on top of it.

Thieves are especially clever and there will always be a scam out there, so it’ll be impossible to prevent every scam, we have to at least stop the ones we know about.

So how do you go about changing your number? You will only be approved for a new number if you can prove that you’ve tried to resolve the problems caused by identity theft but continue to be hurt by your old social security number. The key term is “disadvantaged by misuse” and you have to have experienced financial or personal hardship within the last year. If you can’t get a mortgage loan because your ID was stolen, that’s considered “disadvantaged by misuse.” If the IRS audits you because someone else is reporting income on your SSN, that’s considered “disadvantaged by misused.” The Social Security Administration has a brief bit of information explaining other reasons why you should get a new SSN and unless you actually qualify, you won’t get a new number.

The process for changing your social security number is much like applying for a new social security number – completely Form SS-5 (Application For A Social Security Card), bring documents proving US citizenship (must be originals or certified copies), and evidence you need a new number. Bring all this to your local Social Security Office and apply for a new number.

NOTE: It’s crucial that you request a letter from the SSA explaining why you were issued a new Social Security number. (after you’ve received it) You will need this letter when you go to change over other documents, like your driver’s license, so get this in writing to help avoid headaches down the road.

Signing up is as simple as the rest I suppose.  You enter your personal information, credit card information, then answer a couple of questions about your identity.  As long as everything checks out, you’re through to the dashboard however if you’ve mistyped anything, you may be asked to call in and answer a few more questions.

Experian is the credit bureau that provides your ID protection and credit report and after logging in, you fall on a packed landing page, including the following for ID Theft Protection:

You can see that some services are provided, some are discounted if you buy them, and one is simply not included in your 30 day trial.

The most attractive item on this list is the $1 Million Product Guarantee, which has a large number of rules and restrictions that need to be followed, including placing a credit freeze when you realize your ID has been stolen.  Unlike LifeLock, the ProtectMyID guarantee is paid out if you follow the rules and incur any expenses after your identity has been stolen, up to $1 million.  If for nothing other than piece of mind, this service is already way ahead of the game.

Other standard identity theft protection services apply, like adding the items in your wallet and providing bank account information.  These are done to alert you when any changes occur on your accounts.  An added protection is the Lost Wallet feature, which allows you to cancel all of your accounts with the click of a button, but only if you have previously registered them.

In terms of credit providing a $1 credit report, you are provided it from Experian and it does NOT come with a credit score.  You are more than welcome to purchase your credit score but this 30 day trial does not include it.  The credit report you receive is as detailed as any other, providing contact information for all of your creditors, up to the minute status on your accounts and a lot more.

When looking at the overall service provided my ProtectMyID.com, the identity theft protection is top notch.  Add in a $1 million guarantee and a monthly fee of $9.95 (after the 30-day trial) and it sports the best of both among it’s closest competitors.  In terms of credit monitoring, there are some better programs out there and ProtectMyID.com leaves a lot to be desired.

If you’re looking for help in protecting your good name, sign-up for ProtectMyID.com and their 30-day trial offer.  You will have to pay $1 but you will receive a credit report in the process.

There are two types of fraud alerts, initial fraud alert and extended fraud alerts. The initial fraud alert stays on file for 90 days while the extended version lasts for 7 years. You will need to confirm your identity to place either but an extended report requires an actual identity theft report (initial 90-day fraud alert doesn’t require this). This will make it more of a hassle to obtain credit (you’ll have to provide more information) but this is one of the things many identity theft services do on your behalf.

Pick one of the bureaus and call them to place a Fraud Alert:

• Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
• Experian: 1-888-397-3742
• TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289

If you want to remove the fraud alert before the 90 days are up, you will need to send your request in writing. I recommend using the sample form provided by Experian.

• TransUnion, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834.
• Experian, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013
• Equifax Information Services LLC, P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348-5069
]]> http://identitytheftwall.com/how-to-place-a-fraud-alert/feed 0