To protect your good name

Editor's Note: This is the first of three stories on identity theft and what you can do to prevent it.

How much do you really know about identity theft? Let’s take a little quiz:

Identity theft is rampant and growing, right?

Wrong. But it has become more serious.

Isn’t it true that a primary target of identity thieves is seniors?

No! Identity theft covers the entire age spectrum but younger people are more at risk.

It must be upper middle-class or wealthier people or those who conduct a lot of business online, right?

Again, no! You don’t need to have ever used a computer to be a victim.

The theft of most personal information takes place electronically, true?

Sorry, wrong again. Read on.

Protecting identity has become as big a business as stealing it — almost. But, what if all this protection is just a waste of money? What if there really is no way to protect your identity from compromise?

This three-part series will examine those questions. The conclusions may be unnerving, unsavory and, as you have already seen, unexpected.

In the first two parts, not only will you learn about the threats that abound, but also what you can do to minimize compromise, or information breach.

In the third part you will learn how the personal information -- including that of prominent Collier County law enforcement, judicial and elected officials -- is readily available, free of charge, in public databases. Yes, it’s true.

What it is

What is identity theft? It is using another’s identifying information to commit fraud or theft. In other words, someone else becomes you to steal your money or to commit crime in your name, so the trail leads to you instead of them. Not a pretty picture is it?

Identity theft occurs in a number of forms:

-- Opening new accounts or services using your name

-- Misappropriating or altering your existing accounts

-- Filing for bankruptcy using your name

-- Obtaining identification such as a driver’s license as you

-- Getting a job or filing a tax return under your name

-- Executing financial transaction or making purchases as you

Literally overnight you can find yourself with a criminal record you didn’t earn, indebtedness you never incurred, a hemorrhaging bank account with only a few drops left, or your being a pervert or stalker’s target.

This is not hypothetical. In 2004, the latest year for which data are available, Florida ranked sixth in the nation for the number of identity thefts with 16,062. In July 2005, the social security number and signature of the now-former director of the CIA, Porter Goss, was readily available to anybody anywhere, including Al Qaeda.

Thanks to “The Virginia Watchdog,” BJ Ostergren, www.thevirginiawatchdog.com, who published it as a warning, and a Naples Daily News article published June 26, 2005, “Watchdog Reveals Goss’ SSN in Hope of Changing Law,” Goss’s number is no longer in that public database. But the horse is out of the barn.

You may say, “I don’t even own a computer, let alone use one, so how could I have a problem with this?” Don’t think computer users are a primary target. According to the 2006 Identity Fraud Survey released by Javelin Strategy and Research, a Pleasanton, Calif., financial data company, only 9 percent of identity thefts can be traced to internet use and billing.

If you have a wallet or purse, mortgage or lease, order merchandise by phone (or, of course, computer); pay bills,use a credit or debit card, receive junk mail or fill out forms — or even simply empty the trash — your personal identifying information is at risk and begs your protection.

You have heard that one person’s trash is another’s treasure. How true, but it isn’t just about thrift shops; it’s far more serious. What you throw away can literally become someone else’s treasure at the cost of your good name, your assets and your spotless criminal record.

Victims are forever

This isn’t Chicken Little’s “The sky is falling.” The threat is as real as hurricanes, but, unfortunately, not as predictable.

Identity theft is big business. According to a Federal Trade Commission survey, it’s four times more difficult and five times more costly to rectify the damage from new account fraud; moreover, victims of new account fraud also face other problems such as: interruption or termination of utility or phone services, denial of credit or criminal charges for something they didn’t do.

When these victims call and try to clear their good name, many creditors or collection agencies assume they are trying to get out of paying, and treat them as guilty until proved innocent. Often, it takes years to remedy the damage.

Kids in the crosshairs

If upper middle class and the wealthy aren’t the favorite target of identity thieves, who is? According to the company, Javelin Strategy and Research, www.javelinstrategy.com/research, the highest rate of fraud occurs with Generation X, the age 25-34 population segment. According to experts in the field, this group is less aware of the need to safeguard their information, is freer with information and may not understand the value of personal identity information. They often exchange personal information online in Personal Finance Blogs, e-mails or at Social Networking sites.

Of the Gen-Xers, Hispanics and African-Americans are more likely to be victims of identity theft than the rest of that segment combined. According to Javelin, these two ethnic groups account for just over one-third of all identity fraud, or $20 billion.

Children are a favorite target of identity thieves. Why? Because it may be years before discovery of the ID theft. They are especially vulnerable to new-account fraud, which is someone opening a credit card account with their identification. That is because the fraud might continue undetected for years, until the child is old enough to apply for a job, driver’s license or credit card. That’s when he or she discovers that their credit history is already in shambles and their reputation nearly wrecked.

Children may be clueless about the threat of identity theft, the need to protect their personal information, and more naive about sharing personal information, especially online at social networking sites such as MySpace. Even if your children know how to protect their personal information, they could give information to a trusted friend who isn’t as well trained, who later compromises that information through ignorance.

So now you know who the primary targets are. Did you also know that for the second year in a row, according to Javelin, the number of identity fraud incidents has decreased nearly 12 percent, but the average loss per victim has increased more than 20 percent to about $6,400? In other words, there are fewer victims losing more money per victim. The total loss for all victims is rising slightly, and now stands at about $57 billion per year.

Even if you are not in a targeted population segment, everyone is a potential victim; nobody is safe. This means that vigilance, preparedness, good defenses, and common sense are needed not to make you immune to identity theft, but to make you a less attractive target, and to give you an early warning system if it occurs.

Next week, we will look at some simple, effective and intelligent steps you can take to protect yourself, your good name and your assets without spending a lot of money. In Part III, as promised, we will discuss how even those in Collier County whose personal information is supposedly protected by law, have suffered information breaches at the hands of other public officials. It’s astonishing and hard to believe.

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Next Saturday: How they do it.