Identity Theft

Andrew Schreiber

Alex Demetriou

Jessica Ferrell

What is Identity Theft?

• Identity theft is the process whereby a criminal steals your name, contact information and other personal information to commit fraud or other crimes

Statistics

• In 2003 7 million people were victims

• Almost 10 million U.S. consumers said they were victims of identity theft during the last year, according to a Federal Trade Commission

• Every 79 seconds, a thief steals someone's identity

Federal Trade Commission

• The FTC deals with issues that touch the economic life of every American. It is the only federal agency with both consumer protection and competition jurisdiction in broad sectors of the economy. The FTC pursues vigorous and effective law enforcement; advances consumers’ interests by sharing its expertise with federal and state legislatures and U.S. and international government agencies; develops policy and research tools through hearings, workshops, and conferences; and creates practical and plain-language educational programs for consumers and businesses in a global marketplace with constantly changing technologies.

Deter

• Protect your Social Security number

• Treat your trash and mail carefully

• Be on guard when using the Internet

• Select intricate passwords

• Verify a source before sharing information

• Safeguard your purse and wallet

• Store information in secure locations

Detect

• accounts you didn't open and debts on your accounts that you can't explain

• receiving credit cards that you didn't apply for • being denied or being offered less favorable

credit terms, like a high interest rate, for reason • getting calls or letters from debt collectors or

businesses about merchandise or services you didn't buy

Defend

• Place a fraud alert on your credit reports, and review your credit reports.

• Close the accounts that you know, or believe, have been tampered with or opened fraudulently

• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission

• File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place

             

Signs

• You may find out when collection agencies contact you for overdue debts you never incurred

• Or when you apply for a mortgage or car loan and learn that problems with your credit history are holding up the loan

• And also when you get something in the mail about an apartment you never rented, a house you never bought, or a job you never held.

Tips

• Check credit reports often

• Shred unneeded documents

• Don’t carry around important things with you.

Complaints

• If your identity were stolen you would need to cancel all credit cards and call one of the three major Bureaus

• And then file a complaint with the FTC

             

      

Free Credit Reports

• www.experian.com

• www.equifax.com

• www.transunion.com

Video and Quiz

Work Citied

• www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

• www.google.com

• www.askjeeves.com