IDENTITY THEFT: THE COMPUTER CRIME OF THE MILLENNIUM By Trent Sands © 1999 by Trent Sands Artwork © 1999 by Mark Lang
A new type of criminal has been created by the computer age. This criminal does not steal just physical goods or money. He steals something much more valuable and precious. His crime causes the victim to lose the dearest possession all of us have: our own good name. Once the identity thief has struck, the hapless victim finds out that repairing the damage is a long and difficult process. It is sometimes impossible to recover after being attacked by one of these modern day highwaymen.
The identity thief’s crime or modus operandi is a very simple one ¾ to take over the identity of another living, breathing person. Once this identity has been appropriated, it can be used for any number of criminal purposes.
Some identity thieves simply want an opportunity to jettison the negative records under their own names and have the proverbial "fresh start." These thieves might have poor educational, medical and credit records that prevent them from living the life to which they feel they are entitled. A clean identity with a good background will allow these individuals to get a better job, rent a nice apartment, and live the good life previously denied them.
The identity thief intent on committing credit fraud can proceed down two different avenues. He can take over existing bank and credit accounts belonging to the victim, and then drain them dry. The second pathway involves opening up new accounts that the victim is unaware of, and then milking them for every penny over a short period of time.
A physician in the Midwest became the victim of an organized ring of identity thieves who employed the first method. After obtaining the particulars of her identity (we will explain how this is done later), they proceeded to destroy her financially. The identity thieves stole all of the equity out of her house via a second mortgage, and depleted her retirement account by having checks drawn against it and sent to an alternate address. She was able to prevent the looting of a college fund set up for her daughter, but only by a few hours. Eventually, this woman was made whole, but only after years of agony and frustration.
Another ring of identity thieves cruised the halls of academia. These identity thieves realized that professors, with their excellent job stability and good incomes, made perfect targets. This group targeted a number of professors at a major university in Washington state. This group opened up hundreds of thousands of dollars of credit card accounts in the names of the unknowing intelligentsia, and looted these accounts for all they could. The first time the hapless professors got wind of the problem was when bill collectors started knocking on their doors, or when they themselves applied for credit and were turned down.
These cases are not the worst that can befall the victim of identity theft. Far worse jeopardy can await the victim. Some identity thieves go out and commit other, more serious crimes in the victim’s name. One identity thief, a woman in this case, used the identities of others to pass tens of thousands of dollars of worthless checks to purchase jewelry and other expensive items. Eventually, the police issued an arrest warrant in the name of the victim. This person was then arrested, and convicted of a crime she did not do. She only narrowly avoided going to prison because the identity thief continued to do the same crime even after the victim was in jail, and it then became obvious to the police that the woman in jail was a victim, not a criminal.
Identity thieves exploit the fact that most information we assume is confidential is in fact open to the public. They also rely upon old fashioned greed. The information an identity thief needs to take over your identity is relatively little. The identity thief needs your name, birthdate, Social Security number, address, telephone number, and your drivers license number in certain circumstances.
The identification information will include your license number and expiration date, along with your birthdate. Some states use your Social Security number as the license number, or display the Social Security number on the license. The identity thief now has all the information about you he needs to begin impersonating you.
A second method involves using a little-known loophole in the records kept by the nation's credit bureaus. Most people wrongly assume that their credit history is private, and that a credit report can only be pulled on them if they explicitly allow it, such as when they apply for a loan or apartment.
Not so. Back in the late 1980s, the Bush administration decided to break open the privacy seal on credit reports. The Federal Trade Commission, the federal agency that regulates credit bureaus, said that the only information on credit reports that was protected is the actual payment history. The other information could be packaged and sold to the public.
This is exactly what happened. All three credit bureaus sell what are known as "header reports," which is the information contained at the top or the "head" of the credit report. This information typically includes the individual’s full name, Social Security number, birthdate, current and previous address, and employer name and address.
To access this information all one needs is a name and address, or just a Social Security number. One husband-and-wife team of identity thieves operated in just this fashion. They would look up high-income professional people in directories of business executives and physicians. They would then search telephone books or computerized nationwide telephone databases to locate the current addresses of potential victims.
What can be done to protect oneself from these cybercriminals? The first step is to adopt a policy of providing as little information as possible when seeking a service from a business or government agency. This means protecting your Social Security number. That number can access various records about you. Do not carry a Social Security card with you in your wallet, and if your state is a state that uses the Social Security number as the license number, or displays it on the drivers license, consider getting a new license in a state that does not follow this practice.
Consider reducing the number of personal checks you write. Every personal check you write provides any stranger with access to the most intimate details of your identity. Consider writing checks only to pay bills via mail, such as for the telephone or utilities. Stop writing checks when out shopping.
Avoid returning warranty cards, and joining supermarket-saver clubs that require you to fill out personal information on an application form. This information is frequently sold to a third party, who then combines it with data from other sources, and then resells it.
Call the three main credit bureaus and tell them you wish to "opt out" of prescreening programs. This will stop credit grantors from accessing your credit history without your permission when they are looking for new prospects to send solicitations to.
Until such time as these laws come to pass, all you can do is be prudent and watch out!l