Protecting yourself from identity theft
5:14 p.m. Thursday, September 20, 2007
Identity thieves are becoming more high-tech. Elaborate e-mails designed to look like official documents from banks are tricking more people every day. However, there are signs you can look for to tell if an e-mail is a scam.
First, look for misspellings and grammar mistakes. E-mails sent from banks usually go to a large number of people and are edited to make sure there are very few, if any, mistakes. Also, make sure the e-mail goes to an e-mail account your bank actually has access to. If you gave your e-mail address to your bank under Hotmail, and you receive something from the bank at a Gmail account, it's probably a fake. The most telling sign is that the e-mail will ask for identification.
"Most all banks are not going to ask for your information because they're going to have it already," said Shaun Shufelberger, Banking Center Manager for Bank Of America. "So if you ever get an e-mail like that, contact the financial institution."
Shufelberger said more and more ID theft is happening electronically, but he still personally recommends online banking as opposed to paper statements.
Learn More
More information about identity theft and how to prevent it is available from the Federal Trade Commission's Web site, www.ftc.gov.
Topeka Police Deputy Chief Gary Herman agreed.
"Both sides have their risks," he said, "but the technology I think is coming along that electronically, it does make sense for people to consider that."
Herman said ID theft is a crime that snuck up on police, so they're just now learning how to prevent it. They are getting better, but the more proactive you can be with protecting yourself, the better.
It's important to ask questions to everyone who asks for your information. Ask your bank what they do to protect your information and have them explain it so it makes sense to you. If anyone asks for your Social Security number, ask why they need it and what they will do to protect it. It may seem like an inconvenience, but Herman said a tiny inconvenience now may help stop a big inconvenience later.
"It's better to protect yourself before something happens than to try and recover after something happens to you," he said.
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