Posted on May 19, 2004 | by Howard Dayton

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (BP)--Incidents of identity theft have more than doubled over the past three years and represent the leading consumer fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission in 2003, accounting for 42 percent of all complaints.

Many identity fraud cases begin with the simple theft of a credit card number, as easily as taking the information from a paper receipt.

Stolen credit cards and Social Security numbers (SSNs) can devastate your life because when thieves effectively steal your identity they can do one or all of the following:

-- Open new credit card accounts using your name, birth date and SSN. Then they use the new account, don’t pay the bills and the delinquent account is reported on your credit report.

-- Call your credit card issuer pretending to be you and change the mailing address on your credit card account. Then the impostor runs up charges on your account and, because your bills are being sent to the new address, you may not immediately realize there’s a problem.

-- Establish cellular phone service in your name.

-- Open a bank account in your name and write bad checks on that account.

You may not know your identity’s been stolen until:

-- You receive bills for a credit card account you never opened.

-- Your credit report includes debts you never knew you had.

-- Billing cycles pass and you don’t receive a statement.

-- Charges appear on your bills that you didn’t authorize, sign for, and know nothing about.

How to protect yourself.

Among the common sense steps you can take to protect your SSN or credit card numbers from being stolen:

-- Don’t carry your Social Security card in a wallet or purse.

-- If your state uses SSNs for drivers’ licenses, request a random license number.

-- Review your credit history every six months.

-- Always ask why a merchant needs your SSN and how it’ll be used. If you feel uneasy giving your SSN in a situation, don’t give it.

-- Remove your name from mailing lists you didn’t ask to be on.

-- Release your SSN only to agencies that require it for actions that you have initiated.

-- Never give your SSN or credit card number to unsolicited telephone callers or over the Internet, such as e-mails. See the Federal Trade Commission’s website, www.ftc.gov, for current scams that could result in identity theft.

-- Shred documents containing your SSN and credit card information before you discard them.

-- Contact your creditors or service providers if expected bills don’t arrive.

Internet shoppers

If you do any catalog, phone or online shopping, there are a number of prudent practices you should follow that will help you shop safely.

Suppose you’re considering buying a high-ticket item and you’ve never heard of the seller. Before you buy, check their location and reputation with the Better Business Bureau or the state attorney general’s office in that state.

Always protect your privacy. Provide personal information only if you know who’s collecting it, why and how it’s going to be used. Never give your SSN to anyone on the Internet. Buy online only from vendors with secure servers (those with an unbroken key or padlock icon at the bottom of the browser window) that protect your financial information with online orders.

Carefully guard your online passwords and use different passwords to make online purchases. Don’t ever use your login or network password for online purchases.

Credit card payments offer consumers the greatest protection because transactions are protected by the Fair Credit Billing Act. Even so, before you buy, be sure you thoroughly understand the terms of your purchase, refund and return policies, as well as any restrictions or additional costs.

Check delivery dates when you place an order. Vendors usually tell you when to expect delivery, and federal law requires them to ship items as promised or within 30 days after the order date. Print out Web pages with details about the transaction, including the seller’s name and URL (for instance, if you order from Crown Financial Ministries, our URL is http://crown.org/), and any warranties or return and refund policies in case you’re not satisfied.

If you are a fraud victim:

If your credit card or Social Security card is stolen, simply asking the Social Security Administration or credit card companies to assign you new numbers will not solve your problem.

However, immediately do three things. First, contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus (see below) and report your stolen identity. Ask that a “fraud alert” be placed on your file and that no new credit be granted without your approval. Caution: Only use fraud alert and fraud victim statements if you believe you may be a fraud victim, because if you aren’t a fraud victim the fraud alert makes it much harder to get legitimate credit.

Next, if any accounts have been fraudulently accessed or opened, contact the security departments of the appropriate creditors or financial institutions and close these accounts. Put passwords (never your mother’s maiden name) on any new accounts.

Finally, file a report with your local police or the police where the identity theft took place. Get a copy of the report in case the bank or the credit card company require proof of the crime later on.

Also contact the fraud hotlines of the Social Security Administration at 1-800-269-0271 and of the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-382-4357.

Credit bureaus:

Equifax

Report fraud: 1-800-525-6285

Order credit report: 1-800-685-1111

Website: www.equifax.com

Experian

Report fraud: 1-888-397-3742

Order credit report: 1-888-397-3742

Website: www.experian.com

TransUnion

Report fraud: 1-800-680-7289

Order credit report: 1-800-916-8800

Website: www.tuc.com

The Federal Trade Commission has a helpful free brochure called “ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name.” You may want to visit them at www.consumer.gov.idtheft and ask for a copy.

Remain alert

Stay watchful, because identity theft could happen to you. On any normally busy day, you may write a check at a store, charge a purchase, rent a car, call home on your cell phone, order new checks or apply for a credit card. You hardly give these everyday transactions a second thought -– but they’re an identity thief’s bread and butter.

There’s no guaranteed way to prevent identity theft, but you can minimize your risk by managing your personal information wisely. Be careful at all times, stay alert and remember that God is your defender. “Protect me, God, for I take refuge in You. I keep the Lord in mind always. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:1,8).
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Howard Dayton is CEO of Crown Financial Ministries. Dayton and the late Larry Burkett joined forces in 2000 when Crown Ministries led by Dayton merged with Christian Financial Concepts led by Burkett. The new organization became Crown Financial Ministries, on the Web at www.crown.org.