‘Fraud is everywhere and it’s here in Lake Orion,? Lake Orion Police Chief Jerry Narsh told the Sunshine Rotary Club at their meeting last week. ‘Anybody, any of us, can become victims of fraud.?
According to Narsh, about one in 10 Americans will be victims of fraud. Most typically, this fraud comes in the form of identity theft, where an individual obtains or attempts to obtain personal information such as your name, date of birth and social security number.
‘An individual can take any combination of that information and it’s amazing what they can do,? Narsh said.
With your identity, they can open credit cards or loans, change phone and utility service, commit bank fraud, check fraud or a number of other things where your hard-earned money disappears.
According to Narsh, not only are they are seeing an increase in identity theft which affects your money, but also you.
‘An individual will steal your identity, and they don’t use your identity to perpetuate fraud, they become you,? he said, noting that they will get a driver’s license in your name and commit fraud.
‘Now if they get arrested, they are going to present your name and information. Your identity is their protection, so all of sudden, there is an arrest warrant in your name for fraud, or drunk driving or whatever,? Narsh added.
With your information, a multitude of things could happen to your life-savings, your credit rating and your name, but how do criminals get your information?
These days, it’s gotten more complex than just stealing a purse or wallet. One common way criminals obtain your information is through phone scams or email scams, called ‘phishing,? where the criminal poses as a legitimate company in order to get you to give them your information. They may pretend to be your bank, your credit card company or even your utility company, and ask for your personal information for their records.
‘But does a bank need your information? Does your credit card company need your driver’s license number or your social security number? No, they have all that,? Narsh said.
He added that a bank, or other company, will not call you for this information as they already have it on file.
The best way to protect yourself in this scenario is to hang up, or log off, and contact the company yourself.
‘Don’t ask them for the number. Get it from another source,? Narsh said, noting that if you ask the person calling for the company number to callback, they can just give you a ‘fake? number and answer the phone representing themselves as that institution or company.
Another basic way criminals gain access to your information is to take it out of your mailbox, a place where things like your bank statement, credit card bills or driver’s license renewal will come.
‘If you see your mail disappearing and you’re not getting mail, or your credit card bills hasn’t arrived or your bank statement hasn’t arrived, be very, very worried,? Narsh said.
As a preventive measure, it is recommended that you keep a close eye on your mail and contact the necessary parties if your mail or credit card bills are not coming.
Other options for protecting your mail include using a mailbox that allows mail to go in, but requires a key to take it out, or for some, purchasing a P.O. Box.
And it’s not just your mail that you want to watch, but also your garbage. According to Narsh, the Supreme Court ruled that ‘if you send it to the curb? then its public domain. This means that any individual can riffle through its contents.
In order to protect yourself in this situation, Narsh recommends purchasing a shredder to shred any financial or personal information before placing it in the garbage. This means shredding bank and credit card statements, old checks, driver’s license renewal or anything that might have your personal information on it.
‘Anything that can identify you – your relevant financial information and/or personal information, including your signature ? protect,? he said. ‘Burn it, shred it, destroy it. Don’t put it in your garbage unless it’s shredded.?
Other common scams to look out for are foreign lotteries (illegal to play in the United States, so don’t get excited if you turn out to be a ‘winner?) and e-mails asking for your banking information so that an individual in a foreign country can move a large sum of money and will give you a portion for your troubles. A far fetched scam, but some individuals fall for it (see The LO Down in this web edition for the story of what happened in one Michigan city where a local official did exactly that).
Narsh reminds you to use common sense when it comes to sweepstakes, work-at-home offers and other ‘too good to be true? offers because, typically, if it sounds too good to be true, then most likely it is.
If you feel that you might be a victim of fraud or identity theft, Narsh said to contact your local police department where you can file a police report.
You will also want to get a copy of your credit report, put a ‘fraud alert? on all of your accounts, along with other steps that may be required depending on how your identity was stolen.