Town Hall Meeting Coaches Maryland Consumers to Defend Themselves Against Identity Theft
FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association and LifeLock bring town hall community meeting to Maryland to educate consumers about the dangers of identity theft
TEMPE, AZ – More than 5,400 Maryland consumers filed identity theft complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2008, an increase of more than 12% over the previous year. According to the FTC, Maryland is the 11th highest state reporting identity theft cases, the majority a result of credit card fraud.
The FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (FBI-LEEDA), LifeLock and the Gaithersburg Police Department hosted a town hall meeting on April 22 to educate consumers on the threats of identity theft and to define individual points of vulnerability. This free event held in Gaithersburg, Maryland and serving the Maryland and Washington, D.C. areas provided consumers with an opportunity to learn more about this devastating crime as well as the proactive steps consumers can take to protect themselves. Experts from the National Organization for Victims’ Assistance (NOVA) were on hand to lead discussions about the emotional effects of identity theft and provided onsite counseling for those individuals that may have fallen victim to the crime.
“This crime is devastating consumers, but through our partnership with the FBI-LEEDA and NOVA, we are helping people to be able to fight back by educating them about this crime,” said LifeLock CEO Todd Davis. “As complaints of identity theft continue to be reported, the most important thing we can do is to educate and prepare consumers.”
Number of identity theft cases in Ohio took big leap in 2008
The number of identity thefts reported in Ohio rose 15 percent in 2008, a sharp increase from the previous year and a warning flag to businesses that also fall victim to such crime.
More than 8,200 complaints were filed in the state in 2008, according to a recent report by the Federal Trade Commission, but that figure represents just a fraction of the total cases. And, significantly, it is three-and-a-half times the bump Ohio saw between 2006 and 2007.
“Identity theft is the No. 1 growing crime in the United States. It exceeds illegal drug trafficking, and the cost is in the billions,” said Debbie Wheeler, chief information security officer at Fifth Third Bancorp.
In Ohio, the information of more than 225,000 people was breached in 2008, according to LifeLock, a Tempe, Ariz.-based identity theft protection provider. Most cases involved universities, which offer a breadth of personal information. But banks, retailers and pensions also were targeted. At Luxottica Group in Mason, the personal information of almost 60,000 employees was stolen in the fall when a hacker broke through its secured computer server. And at Franklin Savings & Loan, in Blue Ash, the personal data of some 25,000 customers was breached in August.
“It’s also important to know that these are the ones that got reported,” said Mike Prusinski, vice president of public affairs at LifeLock.
Since September 2008, the number of online searches for personal data, such as Social Security numbers, rose 38 percent, Prusinski said. He surmises that the financially desolate contribute to the gain.
Many searches are possible through peer-to-peer networks like Lime Wire or Beareshare, which let members share music for free. But the networks can be used surreptitiously to search sensitive documents, serving as a portal to computers.
“Within 10 seconds, we pulled up 275,000 tax returns in the New York City area,” Prusinski said. “And that was just the ones that were online at that moment.”
Many free services exist to protect consumers, including www.annualcreditreport.com, which provides credit reports, and 888-5OPTOUT, which can be called to halt unwanted credit card applications and other junk mail.
Wheeler, at Fifth Third, advises shredding documents containing personal information, keeping the Social Security card at home and regularly checking bank statements online, not by mail.
“We used to see identity theft … frequently when people received mailed bank statements that were confiscated,” she said.
Identity theft rises in St. Louis
The number of identity theft complaints in St. Louis rose 14 percent from 2007 to 2008, a new report shows.
St. Louis had 2,400 identity theft complaints in 2008, up from 2,100 in 2007, according to a new report from the Federal Trade Commission.
Like other crimes, the frequency of identity theft grows during troubled economic times, said Denise Richardson, a consumer advocate, education specialist with identity theft prevention company LifeLock and founder of GiveMeBackMyCredit.com.
“People who would never think of robbing a store, suddenly when the economy is bad, they turn to identity theft, which, unfortunately is easy to do,” she said.
All 50 states, including Missouri (ranks 27th) and Illinois (ranks 8th), saw increases in identity theft last year.
