Take steps to guard against identity theft

Not too many years ago, Petaluma residents didn’t worry about their mail being stolen or their cars being rifled by thieves during the night.

But times have certainly changed, and a couple of recent incidents highlight the importance of taking precautions to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft.

Last month, residents of rural Oak Lane and Jessie Lane reported a series of in-cidents in which someone en-tered their parked, unlocked cars during the night. One of the victims reported his credit card was stolen from the glove box of his car. Others felt that the intruders were looking for financial information that they could use for fraudulent purposes.

“We didn’t have to lock our doors back in the ’80s,” said one of the victims, “but it’s different now.”

In another incident, two Vallejo residents were arrest-ed at a Petaluma motel on April 30 for allegedly stealing mail from up to 100 people in mailboxes in several Bay Area cities, and then committing forgery by altering checks.

The Federal Trade Commission estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. Identity theft is serious and takes many forms. Some victims spend hundreds of dollars and many hours repairing damage to their good name and credit record.

According to the FTC, thieves use a variety of methods to get hold of your information, including:

Dumpster diving. They rummage through trash looking for bills or other paper with your personal information on it.

Skimming. They steal credit and debit card numbers by using a special storage device when processing your card.

Phishing. They pretend to be financial institutions or companies and send spam or pop-up messages to get you to reveal your personal information.

Changing your address. They divert your billing statements to another location by completing a change-of-address form.

Old-fashioned stealing. They steal wallets and purses; mail, including bank and credit card statements; pre-approved credit offers; and new checks or tax information. They steal personnel records, or bribe employees who have access.

Pretexting. They use false pretenses to obtain your personal information from financial institutions, telephone companies, and other sources.

While there is no fool-proof way to avoid ID theft, there are steps you can take to minimize your chance of becoming a victim, and steps to take to minimize the damage should a theft occur. The FTC recommends following the “deter, detect, defend” strategy:

Deter identity thieves by safeguarding your private sensitive financial information.

Detect suspicious activity by routinely monitoring your financial accounts and billing statements.

Defend against identity theft as soon as you suspect a problem.

source