Identity Theft and RFID

I got my new passport a couple of weeks ago – it’s one of those new electronic passports. The pamphlet that came with it said I could be ‘assured of the fastest and most efficient processing’ when going through customs for ‘greater border protection and security’. I just go through the line with the special readers and poof – I’m done.

I thought that was a handy feature until I did some research on the ‘special readers’ and how the electronic process works. My passport has a chip in it that emits radio frequency identification (RFID) waves. This technology is in the newer passports,  PASS cards, some student or work ID cards, newer driver’s licenses in a handful of states and pretty much any card that you just flash at a reader and it processes.

Once again, technology is making our lives easier and faster. This is just another reason why identity theft continues to be on the rise and thieves can just as easily use this technology to steal our information. You can buy an RFID reader on eBay and collect information on anyone with an electronic card who are within 20′-30′. Yikes.. you might as well just put a sign on your back.

So I wondered what I could do to protect myself from identity thieves while I was carrying my passport and found an article that tells you how to make a wallet that blocks RFID – http://www.rpi-polymath.com/ducttape/RFIDWallet.php. It says that a layer of aluminum foil will work. I think I’ll make myself a special passport holder just to be on the safe side!

 Here’s a video from BoingBoingTV – ‘How to hack RFID-enabled credit cards for $8‘
There’s a couple of short commercials in the video – just keep watching.

Here’s another good article on RFID and identity theft: http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1719439/id_chips_raise_concerns_over_identity_theft/

Is Identity Theft Really Real?

Identity theft has been on the rise throughout this decade and 2008 was no exception according to the latest report by the FTC. I hope the news about how damaging this crime truly is will eventually become common knowledge and people will start to take more precautions.

Identity thieves consist of drug addicts, scam artists and organized crime gangs who do the dirty work of stealing data and financial records. They can be quite clever and creative with their methods. Then they market all their stolen data (which can amount to millions of identities) and sell them in the black market alleys and chat rooms of the internet. They know that the odds of them being caught and sucessfully prosecuted are slim. Bingo – they have hit the jackpot with a very profitible and safe crime.

How is it that our stolen information can so easily be used against us?

It seems to be common knowledge that credit bureaus, banks, credit card companies and data brokers have foolproof ways to be sure to positively identity anyone applying for credit. But you know what? It used to be ‘common knowledge’ that the earth was flat, too.

Any company or instutition that profits from issuing credit works real hard to sell us on the idea of a cashless society. Just wave a piece of plastic and you’ll instantly get whatever you want, no matter that you don’t actually have the cash right at this moment. So they want you to borrow, spend and pay them interest. They become enablers for identity thieves. The speed required to process all the transactions is mind-boggling and a 24/7 schedule. The sheer volume of transactions requires automated systems to be calibrated to err on the side of approval. This allows fraudulent transactions to go through just as fast as the legimate ones.

But remember, we’re the ones who insist on this instant payment. How annoyed would you be if you had to wait several minutes for approval?

These companies make a LOT of money from this marketing plan, so they’re willing to accept the risk of losing money on bad accounts – it’s built into their plan. The actual consumers (us) who become victims of identity theft are the ones who bear the brunt of this crime. It’s our credit history and scores that are damaged. And that damage reflects on our good name which now infers that we’re financial deadbeats. The burden of proving our innocence is on us.

How much personal information do you have on your computer? Do you bank online?

If this wasn’t enough, there are all those viruses and worms that exploit even the tiniest flaws on our computer’s operating system. These ‘worms’ aren’t created by Mother Nature. They’re created by real people with the intent to steal and do harm.

The convenience of instant credit and a cashless society have erupted into a perfect storm for identity theft. As a result, we’ve got to learn how to protect ourselves from this crime. But even before that, we need to acknowledge that it exists and is a huge threat. 

Identity Theft Protection Reviews

DIY Identity Theft Protection

Children and Teens Make for Easy Identity Theft Targets

As parents, we worry a lot about our kids and do whatever we can to protect them. We monitor their friends, what they eat, their health and what they eat, their school, their cell phones – well, this list could be almost endless. Something that may never even cross your mind to protect them from is identity theft.

According to the FTC’s newest report, over 20,000 kids were victims of identity theft in 2008. That number is how many were actual victims and were actually reported. There were probably tens of thousands more who didn’t report the id theft to the FTC or maybe don’t even know they’ve been victimized yet. Identity theft is a huge problem and continues to grow every year.

Why do children and teens make such easy targets for identity thieves? 

First of all, it can go unnoticed for a very long time. You won’t think to check your child’s credit history until they’re applying for college. After, they normally wouldn’t even have anything to report so why even look? 

The first time your teenager applies for a credit card, a cell phone or a student loan is when most people find the problem. What a shock that is.  Your child’s credit history should be a blank slate with nothing negative on it. Now you find out that they’re starting their adult lives already buried in a deep hole. Plus, the burden is on them to prove they are innocent. Even though it seems obvious that a 10 year old didn’t take out a loan to buy an RV, you’d be surprised at just how hard it is to clear their name.

Identity theft protection is critical in this day and age of electronic finances. ‘Safety first’ is our motto as parents, but don’t forget to include credit safety, too.

LifeLock and TrustedID are identity theft protection companies that offer a plan for children.

Compare LifeLock and TrustedID

Fraud Alerts Don’t Slow You Down

One of the best ways to protect yourself from some forms of identity theft is a fraud alert. And the best thing about a fraud alert is that it’s free. You just have to remember to renew it every 90 days but you only have to notify one of the credit bureaus and they will notify the others.

A fraud alert puts a note on your credit files that asks any new creditor to call you at the phone number you provide before issuing any new line of credit.

Here’s how it worked for me recently.

I wanted to get an iPhone and had to change phone companies. Opening new cell phone accounts is one of an identity thief’s favorite things to do. But with my fraud alert in place, it would be almost impossible for anyone to pretend to be me. Heck, I even had a few problems coming up with the answers to their questions.

While at the at&t store, the sales guy told me they had to run a credit check and needed my social security number. Knowing I was protected (I also personally have LifeLock), I gave it to him. Within a few minutes, my old cell phone rang and a very nice lady from at&t asked me questions about my old address, mortgage payment and credit card accounts.

Because I hadn’t applied for a new credit card in some years, I had a tough time coming up with the answer to the most recent card I had gotten. To make it even tougher, the original issuing bank had been bought out. So I had to put on my thinking cap to remember the new name because I almost never use that card.

So the whole process with the fraud alert only took about 5 minutes.

If I had placed a security freeze on my credit files, I would have had to pay $10 to each credit bureau to remove the freeze before I could have changed phone companies. Plus, I’d have to pay that same amount to refreeze them. That would have been an additional $60. I would have had to plan the change some time in advance too because it doesn’t happen immediately.

I feel very comfortable knowing the fraud alert is in place and yet I still have easy access to my credit if I choose open a new account. It’s perhaps not as fool-proof as a complete freeze but it fits my lifestyle perfectly.

Lost or Stolen Credit Card – Here’s What to Do

If your credt card is stolen or lost, you won’t necessarily become an identity theft victim. So don’t panic. Most credit cards are issued with a liability limit on fraudulent transactions. Typically, you’re responsible for only $50 but many cards now have a zero liability limit – meaning, you’re off the hook completely.

Here’s what to do:

• Call your credit card issuer to tell them you’re card is stolen or lost.
• Find that toll-free number to call on your credit card statement.
• Have the stolen account number closed immediately.
• Ask for a new account number and a new card to be sent to you (it can take a couple of weeks to get your new card).
• The CSR you talk to will be able to see all new charges right away and tell you about them.
• Carefuly watch your credit card statement for charges that you didn’t make.
  • If you can go online to do that, it’s much faster to find the bad charges.
• If you find any charges that aren’t yours, call that 800 number again and tell them.

That’s pretty much it.

Do this even if you have a credit card that you can’t find. It’s probably just lost and not stolen, but this is an easy thing to do to be sure you don’t have any problems. [I've had to do this myself when I couldn't find a card - no idea where it went!]

If you have any recurring charges being made to your credit card, remember to change them to your new account number.

Keep in mind that this is for a credit card not your debit or ATM card. Your credit card gives you a lot more protection from fraud than your debit card because you’re dealing with money that’s not yours. Your debit card pulls money directly from your bank account, so it’s harder to repair the damages.

Now if your wallet was stolen and someone has your driver’s license and possibly your social security card, you have a big problem and you’ll have to go onto full-scale alert for identity theft. Do a security freeze or fraud alert right away. Then order your credit reports every month or two to watch for accounts you didn’t open. You’ll need to monitor this for years because your info is now in the hands of thieves.

Credit Monitoring for Identity Theft Protection

When identity theft comes to mind, you probably think the best protection for you is credit monitoring. After all, it’s been the good old stand-by for the last 20 years. The three credit bureaus have made a lot of money selling us our information so that we can see what’s on our credit reports. Only in 2004 did the US government mandate that everyone was entitled to a free credit report once a year from each credit bureau. They had to do a roll-out across the country that first year. I live in the South, so I was able to get my first free one on June 1, 2004. That was great not to have to pay for it!

Checking your credit report for errors helps to find any fraudulent accounts someone has opened in your name. It also lists your addresses, so you can see if someone has filed a change of address under your name in an attempt to intercept your mail. Plus, it’s good to see what’s showing on your report because there could be errors in your real accounts that need fixing.

Credit monitoring is great if you’re wanting to improve your credit history and score. The better your credit is, the lower your interest rates will be on a car loan, mortgage and even credit cards. But it’s not intended to be the last word in identity theft protection.

Identity theft involving credit is really only a small portion of all the ways a thief can steal your identity. It only shows up on your report after someone has opened a new account. There are other ways  your identity can be stolen and you won’t see them in a credit report. For instance, if an illegal immigrant uses your social security number to work, his income will be credited to you. Of course you won’t be putting it on your tax return. Eventually, the IRS will find it and send you a nasty little letter informing you of unpaid taxes plus the penalties. We all know how much fun it is to deal with the IRS.

There is an identity protection plan that monitors all three credit bureaus and gives you your credit reports and scores. But this plan goes way farther than that. It uses patented scanning technology to watch for your personal information and account numbers being traded, bought or sold on the black market. It also monitors public record information to be sure no one is impersonating you. You’ll get instant alerts letting you know there’s a potential problem. You get help replacing the contents of your wallet if it’s stolen, too. Sweet.

If your identity is stolen, the credit bureaus won’t give you a bit of help. It’s not their job. But this identity protection company will be there for you with TONS of expert help and advice. You also get a $20,000 identity theft insurance policy to cover any expenses like hiring an attorney.

Now you might think this plan is going to be much more expensive than a 3-in-1 credit monitoring service. It’s not. It’s only $11.99 a month. That’s less than Equifax’s 3-in-1 Gold plan! This plan is Identity Guard Extra Caution. It also comes with a free month and you can cancel at any time.

If you’re thinking of signing up for credit monitoring, take a look at this plan first and see if it could be a better choice for you.

Identity Guard Extra Caution Review

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