When Florida police officer Wayne Ivey was growing up, his father told him there were two things he needed to be successful in life: a good name and good credit.
After 16 years investigating identity theft cases nationwide, Ivey said the fastest growing crime in the country is a real threat during a season when a lot of plastic is swiped.
“Opening credit cards exposes us; using credit cards more exposes us; traveling more exposes us,” Ivey said. “All of those things create an influx of an exposure of information ... as an avenue for a criminal. Enjoy the holidays, but be mindful out there.”
Although Ivey said there is no data suggesting the rate of identity theft goes up during the holidays, the exposure and risk does increase.
The Elmhurst Police Department reported 26 instances of identity theft or unlawful use of a credit card from Sept. 1 to Nov. 15 in the city. Detective Cmdr. Dan Buenz said the rate of identity theft seems to continually increase in the information age.
“They’re projecting that one in four persons will be a victim of identity theft,” Buenz said. “It’s a target-rich environment.”
Buenz said the fastest growing crime in the country is also one of the most difficult to investigate because it typically spreads over multiple jurisdictions and affects multiple entities.
“Like many other crimes with an unknown offender, you have to subpoena records,” Buenz said. “If I subpoena information from a company and say, ‘OK, here’s your IP address,’ I then have to subpoena the company with the IP address. I have to subpoena two companies just to get basic information."
“The investigation really depends on what type of identity theft it is," he said.
Buenz said victims can visit www.ic3.gov, a Web site clearinghouse that will refer victims who make a report to the most relevant jurisdiction.
With the Federal Trade Commission reporting 24,310 complaints of fraud in the Chicago area in 2008 alone, Mike Prusinski, spokesman for Tempe, Ariz.-based identity theft protection company Lifelock, said consumers need to be aware of the ways their information can be taken.
“While many people understand what the term (skimmer) is, we want them to be aware of what a skimmer looks like,” Prusinski said.
Prusinski pointed to technologies like credit card skimmers, devices no bigger than a lighter, available online for about $40, that can be attached to ATM slots or anywhere else consumers swipe a debit or credit card. The skimmer then processes and memorizes the card’s information.
“Skimmers aren’t just in restaurants but in banks and grocery stores, and when you go up to the ATM, it may look very familiar,” Prusinski said. “When you stick your card in, it’s going to capture your card.”
Prusinski said there has been a rise in phishing from peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing technology like that used in music share software.
Prusinski said thieves can access any documents downloaded onto a desktop, including tax return information from common programs like TurboTax, that uses P2P technology.
“For those people who do taxes at home, you save the PDF on your computer. Criminals know this and know what it’s called,” he said. “Your name, address, Social Security number, work phone number, bank and routing number, everything is at their disposal to pose as you.”
