Identity Theft is a broad
term used to refer to the variety of means
by which criminals attempt to defraud you
and steal your identity, and subsequently
you money. Your identity is encompassed by a
combination of several pieces of personal
identifying information such as your full
name, Social Security number, and date of
birth (to name a few). Thieves then use
these pieces of information to access your
accounts, or sometimes trick you into
accessing your accounts for them!
People whose identities
have been stolen can spend months or years,
and their hard-earned money, cleaning up the
mess thieves have made of their good name
and credit record. In the meantime, victims
may lose job opportunities, be refused
loans, education, housing or cars, or even
get arrested for crimes they didn't commit.
You're likely familiar
with some of the means by which a thief can
steal your personal identifying information,
but there are also many ways you might not
be familiar with. Understanding the
different types of fraud should help you
avoid becoming a victim. We believe that
education is your best defense against these
crimes. Please read through this information
and view the other information on the other
tabs on this page to educate yourself
completely.
Following are some
typical ways that Identity Theft is
committed. This list is by no means
complete, as criminals are always developing
new ways to defraud you, but it does
encompass many of the most common means
used.
Loss or Theft -
From sneaky pick-pockets to bold purse
snatchers, simple theft of your property is
an obvious means by which a criminal can
steal your personal identifying information.
Of course, don’t help them out by losing
your purse or wallet through your own
carelessness.
Phishing - This is
a term for a variety of scams that all seek
to get you to willingly share your personal
identifying information with thieves. The
thief impersonates a legitimate company or
organization and asks you to “update,
verify, or review” your information. The
requests can come in the form of a phone
call or fax, but most often come in the form
of an email. (They are now even using text
messages!)
Thieves have been known to impersonate
financial institutions, government agencies,
Internet service providers, online
retailers, and others. They send out
millions of emails with a message that often
describes some sort of problem with your
account that requires immediate action. The
message of the email then offers a link to
the “company website” for you to input your
account information or other personal
identifying information. If you click on the
link, you are instead directed to an
imposter website that sends any information
you provide directly to the thieves!
The emails and imposter websites are often
well crafted, including convincing language
and impressive imitations of the legitimate
websites. Rather than try to steal your
information, they try to trick you into
giving it right to them! Then they use the
information you provide to access your
accounts or steal you identity.
Fake Check Scams -
With these scams, the thieves don’t try to
steal your identity, just your money! Most
of the fake check scams involve a trick to
get you to wire money to someone you do not
know. Some of these tricks include:
=
secret shopper scams
=
internet auction scams
=
check overpayment scams
=
foreign lottery scams
=
classified ad scams
The stories and circumstances vary for each
scam, but in all instances, you are given a
paper check (whether it be a cashier’s
check, money order, corporate check or
personal check) and asked to wire money off
to someone you do not know as part of the
transaction or program. These fake checks
often look very real, may contain
authentic-looking watermarks, may include
names and addresses of legitimate financial
institutions, and may even include
legitimate account and routing numbers. But
in the end, it is still just a fake check.
And just because funds are available on a
check you’ve deposited, that still doesn’t
mean the check is good. Later, when the
thief’s check bounces, you are left liable,
because money you wire can’t be retrieved
once it’s sent. So, until your bank confirms
that funds from a deposited check have
actually been deposited into your account,
you are responsible for any funds you
withdraw against that check!
It essentially comes down to this: NEVER
wire money to anyone as part of a
transaction or program that involves money
you’ve received by check.
Spyware and Computer Hacking -
Thieves often use email as a means to get us
to infect our computers with malicious
software (malware) designed to extract your
personal identifying information, which will
in turn help them steal your identity and/or
your money. The malware self-installs on
your computer without your knowledge and
enables small pieces of information to be
gathered about your Internet use, passwords,
etc.
Thieves take advantage of our curiosity
regarding current world events, everything
from big news stories and celebrity gossip
to simple "funny" stories or videos, and
infect web sites, search results, and email
with malware. Scam emails may promote videos
and pictures thieves hope will peak your
interest, enticing you to click on them, but
these emails will infect your computer when
you click on the link or open the
attachment.
Computer hacking is a more overt, aggressive
attack on your computer designed to extract
your personal identifying information.
Mail Theft -
Thieves will sometimes take account
statements, pre-qualified credit card
offers, or other mail right from your
mailbox.
Statements and other mail can, of course,
give them personal identifying information.
Stolen credit card offers can sometimes be
filled out and sent directly to the thief at
another address to give the thief a credit
card in your name, but in
their possession, without
you even knowing about it until the first
bill comes!
Dumpster Diving -
Rather than trying to visibly steal your
information, some thieves will simply go
through the trash, whether it is at your
home or at a company you do business with,
looking for discarded documents that contain
your personal identifying information.
Card Skimming -
Sometimes thieves are able to place a
“skimming” device at an unsupervised
debit/credit card machine, such as at an ATM
or gas station. Then when you swipe your
card to use it to make a purchase or
withdrawal, the device captures your card
number and other information for the thief
to steal.
"Shoulder Surfing" and
Eavesdropping - These are the very
simple techniques of secretly looking over
your shoulder to try to determine your PIN
or password during a transaction and
secretly listening when you speak personal
identifying information aloud during a
transaction.
How Am I At Risk?
You are
at risk virtually every day
as identity thieves are
constantly seeking new ways
to steal you money. As you
can see from the many ways
they try to accomplish that,
identity thieves look for
the easiest path. They are
sneaky and tricky and often
try to get you to do the
work for them.
There are
many ways that you can
protect yourself, but many
people forget to do some
things or overlook some of
the protections necessary.
Whatever “holes” you leave
in your protection are
obviously your biggest
risks.
Review
the many ways you can
protect yourself on the next
tab and be sure to close any
“holes” you have in your
protection.
Tools To Prevent Identity
Theft
A great
way to keep tabs on your
identity, and find out FAST
if someone is opening or
accessing accounts or credit
cards in your name, is by
checking your credit report.
Now you can do it for free!
Each of the nationwide
consumer reporting companies
is required to provide you
with a free copy of your
credit report, at your
request, once every 12
months, from
www.annualcreditreport.com.
Tip:
Since you get one free
report from each of the 3
bureaus per year, do not
request them all at once.
Spread them out, since you
then get three free
"snapshots" of your credit
per year.
Check
your report carefully to
make sure it is accurate. If
you do find any inaccurate
information, you should
check your reports from the
other two credit bureaus.
Note:
If your personal information
HAS been lost or stolen, you
should check all of your
reports more frequently for
the first year.
Educate
yourself further at any of
the following links:
www.consumer.gov/idtheft
www.idtheftcenter.org
www.fdic.gov
I Am A Victim - What Do I Do
Now?
If you ever
know or
suspect that
you are a
victim of
identity
theft or any
sort of
fraud, there
are several
things you
should do.
=
Contact one
of the three
major credit
reporting
agencies to
report the
fraud and
request that
they place a
"fraud
alert" on
your account
Equifax
=
www.equifax.com
=
1-800-525-6285
Experian
=
www.experian.com
=
1-800-397-3742
Trans-Union
=
www.transunion.com
=
1-800-680-7289
Note:
You only
need to
contact one
agency, as
they will
then contact
the other
two
=
Review your
credit
reports for
other fraud
that you may
not have
found yet
=
Contact the
police to
report the
crime and
request a
copy of the
report
=
Contact the
Federal
Trade
Commission
at
www.consumer.gov/idtheft
to make a
report
=
Contact your
bank and let
them know
=
Contact any
business
likely to be
affected and
let them
know
=
Keep good
records of
everything
you do, when
you do it,
and whom you
speak with
Current
Threats and
Trends
The
following
area is
where we
will post
the most
current
information
and
developments
with regard
to known
threats and
trends.
OUR Privacy and Security
Policies
International
Debit/ATM
Card Usage
If you have
plans to
travel
outside of
the United
States on a
trip in
which you
intend to
use your
American
Savings
MasterCard
Debit/ATM
card, please
make the
bank aware
of your
plans about
a week
before you
travel to
request card
activation
for
international
usage.
Also, if you
need or
expect to
make
purchases
with your
MasterCard
Debit/ATM
card at
businesses
located
outside the
United
States,
please make
us aware and
request that
we activate
your card
for
international
usage.
This is for
your safety
and
protection,
as many
instances of
fraud
originate
from outside
of the
country
where it is
difficult to
police or
prevent.
For ANY
transactions
outside of
the United
States,
whether it
is overseas
or just in
Mexico or
Canada, we
ask that you
contact the
bank, in
person or in
writing,
before any
expected
transactions
are
attempted so
that we can
ensure that
your
American
Savings
MasterCard
Debit/ATM
card
continues to
work
properly.
Your
everyday,
domestic use
of your
MasterCard
Debit/ATM
card remains
unaffected.
There is no
need to do
anything
unless you
are making
plans to
travel to or
purchase
items from
outside of
the United
States.
In the event
that fraud
is ever
suspected on
your
MasterCard
Debit/ATM
card, you
may receive
a phone call
to verify
transactions.
Be advised
that while
you may be
asked
questions to
confirm your
identity, no
one should
EVER ask for
your Card
Number, PIN
Number, or
full Social
Security
Number.
Privacy
Policy
Click the
following
link to view
a PDF of the
bank's
current
Privacy
Policy.
Note:
These PDF
files can be
read with
Adobe
Acrobat
Reader. Free
Adobe
Acrobat
Reader can
be
downloaded
from
www.adobe.com
