Each year the holiday season finds millions of shoppers cramming the malls and filling the online airwaves with the sounds of commerce. They are also filling both the stores and the fiber optic cables with checking account and credit card numbers. Paula Fleming, a spokesperson from the Better Business Bureau, a consumer advocacy organization, said, “[It is] critical that we all take specific steps to fight both low and high tech ID thieves.†This is especially true right now.
Low Tech Identity Thieves
Low tech thieves have used approximately the same techniques for at least the past several decades to commit identity theft. Their methods include wallet snatching, shoulder skimming, and the ever popular trash digging.
Wallet snatching is, of course, when a person grabs your wallet or purse, with or without your noticing. It’s not the smartest course of action to fight a thief to get the item back, especially if he or she is bigger than you. Instead, carry a minimal amount of personal information with you. For example, you only need one credit card when you’re out shopping, and you don’t need your Social Security card, birth certificate, etc. Leave these extra documents at home or in a safe deposit box.
Plus, don’t leave your purse or wallet unattended, even for a couple seconds. If you take it to work with you, place it in a drawer with a lock on it, even if you trust your coworkers. Never leave your bag on the back of your chair in a restaurant. Place it in front of you or in your lap.
If this has happened to you please see our article on what to do if you lost your wallet or had your purse stolen.
Shoulder skimming is when someone peeks at your information as you’re paying and writes it down for future use or looks over your shoulder as you type in your password. Be careful when using plastic or a check to pay for purchases. Make sure no one is looking over your shoulder, as they could be trying to memorize the number and/or your password so they can write it down later. See if you can swipe your card yourself, if applicable, instead of handing it to the clerk.
Trash digging, or dumpster diving, is when a thief gets your information from papers you have discarded. To prevent this crime, use a cross-cutting shredder to destroy bills and statements before you put them in the recycle bin or trash.
High Tech Identity Thieves
High tech thieves have several methods, which you may or may not be able to prevent, but certainly should be aware of as they do lead to identity theft. These include phishing emails, network hacking and data mining.
Phishing email identity theft is at times the easiest to spot. It happens when you get an email from a “business†that says you need to go to your account and verify your information, a long lost “relative†notifies you of an inheritance, or you get word of a bogus lotto win. In these circumstances, just delete the email and get on with your day. Other phishing scams tell you there are unauthorized charges on your account and you need to “log in immediately.†They can be quite a bit more tricky as the site you are taken to is made to look like the legitimate site that you usually do business with – like your bank.
Network hacking occurs when a thief accesses your network so he or she can “talk†to your computer and sometimes view data stored on it. If you have a wireless network at home, make sure you password protect it. This can keep hacking thieves out of your airspace.
Data mining is something you may not be able to control. It’s when thieves use high tech methods to determine data patterns and use their results to “guess†passwords and other data. You can start by creating passwords that are not very common; for example, use a special character and a combination of numbers and letters.
The last high tech means is through advanced software programs like malware or trojan horses that gather information from any computer they can infect and send it back to the identity thief. Often these viruses target large businesses, universities and government offices but there are 100’s each year that go after personal computers. This is why you need an internet security suite such as Norton, McAffee, or Kapersky for each computer with online access. On top of that your best protection is an identity theft protection service.