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Preventing Identity Theft Tips
Five Tips to Prevent Identity Theft in Schools
Educational institutions have a responsibility to keep staff and student information safe and secure. Here are nine tips on how to prevent identity theft in the schools.
1. Know What Identity Theft Is
If you don’t understand what identity theft is or how it happens, you will be unequipped to recognize and handle potentially dangerous situations. Most identity theft is directed at employees rather than the students using low-tech methods. Educating staff about ‘social engineering’ techniques should be a high priority. For example, an ID thief might call a district office asking for employee information for ‘verification’ purposes. Create a process to handle these types of calls that will determine whether or not the request is legitimate.
2. Appoint an Information Security Officer
The person in charge of IT security should review the handling of all sensitive information – how it is handled, who has access, and where it is stored.
3. Conduct Ongoing Training
Distribute information about maintaining security to both staff and students using printed literature, e-mails and webinars or closed circuit television. And invite specialists to conduct in-school training sessions.
4. Be Specific with ID Theft Prevention Suggestions
Tell staff, particularly those working in areas that have a lot of personal information like human resources, exactly what to do. Advise them to always log off or turn off their computers whenever the leave their desk, and thoroughly brief them about online phishing schemes that try to extract personal information from unsuspecting victims.
5. Identify All Sources of Sensitive Information
While computers are the main source of stored information, put security measures in place for protecting information included on paper reports, filed in cabinets, and loaded onto laptops and PDAs.
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IDENTITY GUARD® Tip: Five Precautions to Prevent Identity Theft
Stories about stolen databases of highly sensitive personal data have made their way to the front page of every major newspaper across the country. It leaves all of us wondering how to prevent identity theft. With so much of our personal information already swapped and sold between countless databases, there is no one definitive way to stop identity theft. Here are five precautions you can take right now to help avoid identity theft:
Request your credit report. You are entitled to one free credit report each year from each of the three credit reporting agencies. Request them. Review them. Report discrepancies immediately. To request a report, call 877-322-8228 or go online to annualcreditreport.com.
Check your accounts online frequently. Once or twice a week monitor your bank and credit card accounts to catch any unusual charges, changes or transfers that you did not authorize.
Minimize traces of your bank account information. Instead of using a debit card that is imprinted with bank account information, pay with cash or a credit card.
Exercise your opt-out options. Banks, insurance companies and brokerage firms must send you opt-out privacy notices with toll-free numbers or an address for you to request that your financial information not be shared with any other company or individual. Take the opportunity to keep your information from being added to other databases.
Keep your SSN to yourself. Don’t carry your Social Security number with you and only use it for tax, employment or credit purposes. Shred documents that have your SSN on them – or any other personal and account information – and if you don’t have a locking mailbox, get one.
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Four Things Businesses Can Do to Prevent Identity Theft
While individuals have to protect their own personal information to prevent identity theft, businesses have a greater responsibility to protect their customers’ personal information from identity theft. Here are four precautions businesses should take:
1) Use alarm systems.
We may often think that customer information stored in our computer systems is stolen by savvy Internet computer hackers, but there’s plenty of identity theft happening the old fashioned way – by physically stealing documents. Alarm systems are effective deterrents – especially those that are monitored by a security company. In addition to using an alarm system, make it more difficult for thieves to access your offices by using deadbolts on external doors and secure exposed windows with security film, bars, screens or shatter-proof glass.
2) Lock up business records.
Use locking file cabinets to store physical business records. Be sure to lock the filing cabinets at night and during the day when there’s no one available to monitor access. For computer system and database back ups, lock them in a safe or a security deposit box. Don’t leave them lying around.
3) Shred paper documents.
Tossing business records out with the trash or placing in the recycling bin is an invitation for disaster. Shred all business records that you no longer need before placing into the recycling bins and don’t forget to include any mail or billing documents that has sensitive information on it. If you have large volumes of data that needs to be destroyed, contract with a shredding service that will come to you. They will shred the documents and dispose of them properly.
4) Limit computer access.
Password-protect your computers and limit access to sensitive information on a “need-to-know” basis. Also, when a employee no longer works for your business, immediately cut off their access to your computer network. Yes, this could lead to more expense, but a disgruntled employee can do a lot of damage. You must take all steps necessary to prevent and avoid identity theft for you and your customers.
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IDENTITY GUARD® Tip: Equip Your Computer to Help Prevent Identity Theft
Your virtual world is increasingly vulnerable to online predators and identity thieves, but there are things you can do to equip your computer to help prevent identity theft.
Invest in security software for antivirus, anti-spyware and firewall protection. Firewalls block computers outside your network from gaining access to your machine. Set your security levels high for maximum protection and reduce them only when necessary.
Set your computer to automatically accept operating system updates.
Configure your router to encrypt data. If you use a wireless connection for the Internet, make sure you set it to encrypt data so that it locks strangers out of your network. Most routers have the option to set it at WEP or WPA. Choose WPA.
Rethink those easy-to-remember passwords. Use different passwords for different accounts and change them periodically. The strongest passwords are long and combine both letters and numbers. Avoid using your name, kids’ names and pets’ names, or anything that someone who knows you would be able to guess.
Clean out the ‘cookie’ jar. Whenever you surf the web, your browser collects and stores ‘cookies’ that remember the sites that you visit, leaving a history of your activity. This log (cache) is accessible to anyone who looks at your browser. Use the Tools function to clear out the cache. It’s usually an easy one- or two-click cleanse.
Lastly, remember that avoiding identity theft online has as much to do with your actions as it does with arming your computer with anti-theft devices and software. Always assume that e-mail attachments, embedded links and free download offers from a website are at high risk of containing dangerous programs.
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Review Your Credit Report for Telltale Signs of ID Theft
Over and over again we’re told that we need to review our credit reports regularly as a method of preventing identity theft. But what information is on the credit report and what telltale signs of identity theft are we supposed to be looking for?
Here’s a breakdown of the types of information included in your credit report:
Personal information includes your name, address, Social Security number and place of employment. Previous addresses and places of employment might also be included.
Account history includes a detailed list of your credit accounts and payment history. Each listed account will include the company name of the organization reporting the information, the account number, the type of account, terms of repayment, date the account was opened, the highest amount charged if it is a credit card or the original amount of a loan, credit limit, balance due at the time the data was reported, any amount past due at the time the data was reported, the account status, your payment history, and the date that the data was last updated by the creditor.
Collection accounts may be included with the account history or recorded separately.
Public records identify things like bankruptcies, judgments, tax liens, and state and county court records.
Credit inquiries will list all creditors and lending institutions that have accessed your credit report within the past two years.
Pay close attention to credit inquiries as telltale signs of identity theft. If the report is rife with attempts to open new accounts, then someone has access to your personal information. Also scrutinize the account history for every entry to search for activity that you did not initiate.
As a final note of caution to avoid identity theft: keep your copy of the credit report safe and secure or shred it if you decide not to keep it. It contains all the information a thief needs to effectively steal your identity.
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IDENTITY GUARD® Tip: Eight Preventive Steps To Protect Yourself from Identity Theft
You may not be able to entirely control whether or not you’ll become a victim of identity theft, but you can take deliberate steps toward preventing identity theft and fraud. And the most potent ingredient for avoiding identity theft is awareness. Here are eight quick checklist items:
Offline:
When using your credit card to make a purchase, cover the card with the palm of your hand so numbers aren’t exposed to those around you.
Refuse to give out your Social Security number unless you are satisfied that it is absolutely necessary to do so. Offer alternate forms of identification.
When ordering new checks from the bank, pick them up at the bank instead of having them mailed.
Watch wait staff or store clerks carefully when they take your credit card to swipe for a purchase. If they plan to take it out of your view, go with them.
Online:
Don’t open attachments or click on embedded links in any e-mail if it didn’t come from someone you know and trust.
Refrain from sharing your phone number and address on community websites.
When you make a purchase online, take every precaution to make sure it is a safe, secure and encrypted transaction.
Switch from paper bills and bank statements to online account management. You can check accounts as often as you want and you will eliminate the potential for thieves stealing statements from your mailbox.
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Individual States Step Up to Help Prevent Identity Theft
Federal laws have made great strides in helping to protect individuals from identity theft and stiffen punishment and penalties for offenders. Now, individual states are stepping up to impose laws of their own designed to prevent identity theft.
For example, in Jan. 2007, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm signed an identity theft protection bill into law that requires businesses in the state of Michigan to notify consumers when personal information has been illegally accessed or stolen. Prior to this time, businesses were not compelled to inform their customers of breaches to their systems.
Notifying consumers about a security breach gives them the opportunity to take protective and preventive measures to avoid identity theft. They can place fraud alerts on their credit reports, which pumps up monitoring of activity. Michigan is also considering the addition of a security freeze law that would allow consumers to “freeze” their credit reports from being accessed by anyone without their permission. Already adopted by more than 30 states, freeze laws have been likened to placing a padlock on your identity and could prove to be the most ‘bullet proof’ form of identity theft prevention.
Along with requiring businesses to notify customers of a security breach, the new law imposes stiffer penalties for those who don’t. If a company fails to contact consumers it can face fines up to $750,000 – the strongest penalty in the country.
To find out what your state laws are concerning identity theft prevention and protection, contact your state Attorney General’s office.
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ID Theft Prevention: Active Duty Alerts Available for Military Personnel
A despicable – but very real – method of identity theft is to target military personnel who are on active duty. The inability to respond to fraudulent activity on bank and credit card accounts make them vulnerable to misuse of their personal information that could go undetected for a long period of time.
Amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act allow members of the military who are away from their usual duty stations to place an "active duty alert" in their credit report to help prevent identity theft. The alert requires creditors to verify your identity before granting credit in your name.
According to the FTC, when you place an active duty alert, your name will also be removed from the credit reporting companies’ marketing list for prescreened credit card offers. Exemption from the list expires after two years unless you specially ask to go back on the list before then.
To either place or remove an active duty alert, call one of the three consumer reporting companies listed below. Call only one. Each company is required to notify the other two when a request is received. The company will require you to provide appropriate proof of your identity, which may include your Social Security number, your name, address, and other personal information.
If using acronyms helps you to remember important data, then commit this one to memory to help prevent identity theft. It will remind you of the fundamentals for minimizing risks of becoming a victim.
STINGY: Be stingy – keep your personal information personal and ask questions of those who want you to part with it. Guard your Social Security number – it’s like gold to identity thieves. And take extra precautions to keep your incoming and outgoing mail out of reach. If you will be out of town, ask your local post office to hold delivery until your return. And remember to shred unneeded documents that contain your personal information.
CHECK: Check your financial information regularly. Review bank statements for unauthorized withdrawals, and check credit card accounts for fraudulent charges. Know your monthly cycles for receipt of statements and if one doesn’t come, contact the institution immediately to report possible fraudulent activity. Verify your address to ensure someone has not hijacked your information with a change of address request.
ASK: Ask to receive your credit report at least once a year from each of the credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. (It’s free!) Review every account listed on the report. If you find accounts that you did not open or authorize, contact the reporting agency immediately to place a fraud alert on your report.
MAINTAIN: Maintain records of your accounts for at least one year. They will be helpful if you ever need to dispute a specific transaction.
Other steps you can take to avoid identity theft include the following: Sign new credit cards immediately and write “Ask for ID” on them. Watch cashiers closely. Watch anyone who handles your checks or plastic cards. Memorize your Social Security number and passwords. Do not use your date of birth as your password and do not record passwords on papers you carry with you. When using an ATM, be aware of your surroundings, i.e., someone attempting to get your PIN number. Also, be wary of the machine itself. Check to make sure that the machine has not been retrofitted with a skimming device that would capture the details of the transaction. Never leave transaction receipts at ATM machines, gas stations or points of sale.
