Identity Theft Prevention

By Holly Cyrus

Mr. James Lavery speaks to the group

The Women in Engineering Affinity Group of the IEEE hosted a Speaker Series luncheon on April 4. The topic, presented by Mr. James Lavery of the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance, was Identity Theft.

In a very entertaining way, Mr. Lavery provided the audience with valuable information on common approaches to handling banking transactions, credit card use, and the availability of personal information that can lead to harmful consequences. He also distinguished between two types of identity theft: amateur and professional.

The amateur identity thief is anyone who seizes an opportunity to collect or use information of yours that comes readily to hand. This can include: guests who can easily access personal or financial information in the home, someone who gets access to your checkbook and removes a couple of checks from the back of the book (or from your supply of checks), a gas station attendant who uses your card to charge another transaction after yours is completed (closes the lane and invites a friend to fill his vehicle), someone who can easily get to the information in your wallet or purse, someone who can easily access your mail and use credit card offers or checks, someone who can look over your shoulder at the bank, at the DMV, or other institution to get your personal information.

Professional identity thieves do not generally come in direct contact with their victims – they will often employ staff at restaurants, hotels, and other service centers to collect credit information by swiping your credit card onto a separate device that holds the information from a couple hundred cards. The information on the device is then sold, at a price determined by the value that is left on the card.

What can happen – thieves can obtain fraudulent credit accounts, secure deposits on cars and housing, obtain employment opportunities, create fraudulent insurance opportunities, and rob your retirement savings.

What can you do – don’t carry, unless specifically needed, extra credit cards, social security cards, birth certificates or passports. There are many other proactive actions you can take - find more information at www.NJDOBI.org under Consumers, Personal Finance.

If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, contact your local law enforcement agency, credit card companies, banks, investment companies, licensing agencies, etc., the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338), the Social Security Administration, credit bureaus – have fraud alerts placed on your files.