ID Theft During the Holiday Season

by Doug Pollack

Unfortunately, ID thieves don't take time off during the holidays. Because people are out and shopping (or on the web and shopping) more actively during December, there is an even greater risk of identity theft.

Christine Arevalo, an ID theft expert and head of data breach services at ID Safeguards, discusses ID theft during a recent edition of AM Northwest.



When shopping online during the holidays, remember to look for the "lock" icon and "https:" address in your browser when entering your credit card or other personal information. Also, she suggests that you dedicate just one credit card for your online purchases in order to make it easier to keep track of the charges in January. And never use a debit card for online buying since it directly accesses your checking account funds.

The Bad Check Boomerang

By: D. Jones, Recovery Advocate

Have you recently received a collection notice in the mail and don’t know why? Collection notices can be for outstanding balances on credit cards or for outstanding, uncollected checks. Those pesky notices are one of the main ways the average consumer discovers the theft of their identity.

When a check has been written, whether a forgery (signing a name that isn’t yours) or a counterfeit check (a false check created with accurate or completely inaccurate information or a mixture of both) it goes through a few steps before its final destination.

Ever notice those little machines or attachments to the register that scan your check when you present it to the merchant? Those are usually linked to larger check verification companies. The four major ones are: Telecheck, CheckRite, SCAN/ChexSystems and Certegy. The system used either denies or accepts the check and the merchant goes from there.

If the check is denied, it means there is a check collection or an alert out with the particular bureau the merchant uses. The merchant will often give the consumer a card with contact info for the bureau used. However, if the check clears, either the name, driver’s license number or checking account information is not on file with the bureau as being in “negative status”. When a check is verified as “no negative status” it doesn’t mean the check is good – it means there is no record of the check being bad. Not as easy as it sounds.

Back to those check collection notices in the mail – if you've received one it means your personal information (bank info, name, driver’s license number) was used to write a check to a merchant.

If the information used was your account info, you notice unauthorized debits exiting your checking account and alert the bank. If it does not belong to your bank, and here’s the frightening part, you may not know about it for a while.

Once the check doesn’t clear it goes back to the merchant to collect the amount. Often they use those same verification bureaus to collect for them and record the information as “negative” which means the victim is unable to present checks validly – another way a victim discovers the theft of their identity. Enter the appearance of the check collection notice in the mail.

Remember that frightening delay mentioned earlier? If incorrect address or fake address information was used the notice may not get back to you for some time, and identity thieves count on this delay to utilize the checks as long as they can.

Thieves obtain our info through various illegal methods including mail theft, purse/wallet theft, dumpster diving, or corporate breach compromise and black market dealings.

Sometimes the victim attempts to resolve the situation themselves but the collection notices can often be the tip of a very nasty iceberg. We’ve all heard about collection bureaus and their practices - dealing with these guys can run the gamut from irritating to abusive. So if you ever get one of those notices call the check collection bureau and ask them to provide verification of the debt – it’s your legal right!

Credit Union Customers Targeted with Latest Scam

by Heather Wells (Recovery Advocate)

What could be worse than having your bank account or good credit history hijacked around the holidays? Picture yourself at the register attempting to pay for gifts using your debit card and being told that there are insufficient funds in your account. Or imagine checking your credit reports only to discover dozens of new maxed out lines of credit that you did not know about.

The identity thieves are getting increasingly clever with their scams. They have realized that consumers are becoming less willing to respond to “phishing” emails that direct them to decoy websites asking for personal banking information or a social security number. Most folks delete these sorts of emails suspecting foul play, which is the smart thing to do. The newer version of this phishing scam is known as “vishing,” or “voice phishing.”

An article from consumeraffairs.com dated December 3, 2007 states that “sophisticated criminals now send emails instructing consumers to call a telephone number instead of clicking on a link. This tactic, known as ‘vishing’ can be especially effective because consumers who encounter a live person are much more likely to let down their guard.”

Read more from the article and view a recently circulated vishing email here.

Consumers who receive one of these bogus emails should contact their credit union directly by using the phone number on their monthly statement or by obtaining the number from the financial institution’s official website. It’s also a good idea to report this scam to the Federal Trade Commission at http://www.ftc.gov/.