Safeguard Series – Part III 

This is the third in a series of articles* intended to raise awareness on how you can protect yourself from cybercrime. Unfortunately, we’ve had several clients experience these issues over the past few years. If you think your personally identifiable information has been compromised, please let us know immediately.

Protect Your Social Security Number

• Don’t provide your social security number to anyone unless there is a legitimate reason, which may include when you are applying for employment, opening a financial account, freezing your credit reports or if someone is conducting a background investigation on you.
• The Social Security Administration (SSA) does not contact people by phone.  If you receive a phone call from the SSA, it is most likely a trick to get you to provide your social security number.
• Don’t routinely carry your social security card or any documents on which your social security number is printed.
• If someone you contact asks you to verify the last four digits of your social security number that is generally okay.

If a criminal steals an identity, here are six things they can do:

1. They can open credit card accounts, bank accounts, and loans in your name.

Prevention: Freeze all four of your credit reports. A freeze restricts access to your credit reports and should prevent new account activity in your name. Once frozen, you must lift the freeze before you can get new credit. Freezing is highly recommended and is a proven way to protect against new account fraud.

Below is the contact information for the agencies.

• • Experian: (888) 397-3742 | O. Box 9530 Allen, TX 75013 | www.experian.com/freeze
  • Equifax: (800) 685-1111 | O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374 | www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services
  • Innovis: (800) 540-2505 | O. Box 1640 Pittsburgh, PA 15230 | www.innovis.com/personal/securityfreeze
  • TransUnion: (888) 909-8872 | O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19016 | www.transunion.com/credit-freeze

Before you freeze your credit reports, check them for unusual activity. You are allowed four free reports each year. To order all but the Innovis report, use: https://www.innovis.com/ or call 877-322-8228; Your Innovis credit report must be ordered from: www.innovis.com/personal/creditReport.

2. They can file state and federal tax returns in your name.

Prevention: For federal taxes, depending on where you live, you might be able to get a PIN from the IRS to prevent fraud. To see if you can, go to this site: www.irs.gov. Check with your state authorities to see what methods they use to help prevent fraud. Victims won’t be able to file tax return in the normal manner.

3. They can get medical care or prescription drugs in your name.

Prevention: Notify your medical insurance provider if you have been a victim of any form of identity theft. Check your health insurance statements carefully. If a criminal uses your identity to receive medical services, not only does it defraud the insurance provider, but it could create entries in your permanent medical record for procedures you did not receive and conditions that you don’t have.

4. They can file for social security benefits in your name (if you are eligible).

Prevention: Create an online social security account at www.ssa.gov. When you create an online account, it does not mean that you have to collect benefits, just that a criminal can’t do that in your name. Note, that you can create your online account at any age and track your benefits throughout your lifetime.

5. They can file for unemployment benefits using your identity. 

Prevention: There has been a large increase in fraudulent unemployment claims using stolen identities. Criminals filing for benefits using a stolen identity must have the personal information of the victim. It is important to be wary of telephone calls, text messages, letters, non-verified websites, or emails that require you to provide sensitive information, including birth dates, and social security numbers. If you have become a victim, contact your employer and your state unemployment office to report the fraud and follow their instructions regarding resolution.

6. They can steal the identity of a deceased person.

Prevention: Identity theft could happen after someone dies. A criminal may use a deceased person’s details to drain accounts, set up new loans, or steal government benefits. You can obtain copies of the deceased’s official death certificate and provide it to all four credit bureaus and the deceased financial institutions.

*Source: Retired FBI Special Agent Jeff Lanza jefflanza@thelanzagroup.com; www.thelanzagroup.com

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