Cybercrimes

New fiber optic cable is coming to Rice County and we are building our lives around our wired and wireless networks. The question we must now answer is will we work together to defend them?

Working with public and private sector partners worldwide has helped law enforcement catch and stop many cybercrimes. Stopping identity theft, the most common cybercrime, will take a community effort. A stolen identity is a powerful cloak of anonymity for criminals. Thieves are stealing names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, Medicare numbers, addresses, birth/death certificates, and bank/credit card numbers, to commit identity theft.

Thieves can obtain your information in many ways such as stealing your wallet, snatching your mail or trash, or listening for personal information while you’re shopping or on your phone. Beyond these methods are some new approaches which include hiding software on your computer to log your keystrokes or “phishing” you with bogus e-mails about problems in your account or offers of free gifts. When you click on the embedded link, it takes you directly to that criminal’s website where they will try to “pharm” your personal data.

Thieves also target organizations that have your personal information. Just about everybody including your bank, schools, employer, doctor, merchants, utilities, and government agencies. They get it by bribing an employee, stealing it, hacking into it, or stumbling upon it on from a stolen laptop.

We’re all vulnerable to identity theft—that’s the bad news. The good news is you can protect yourself. Don’t carry your social security number on any documents in your purse or wallet. Be sure to stop mail when you’re out of town. Shred your trash with a cross cut shredder. Be careful what you say about yourself in public or on social media. Finally, you can protect your computer with a fire-wall or anti-virus software.

Since you can’t protect information in the hands of organizations, you must monitor your credit reports. If someone has stolen your identity to open a new account, it should show up as an entry on your credit report. You’re entitled to one free report per year from the three credit reporting agencies. Getting this report gives you a summary view of the security of your identity. For even more protection, consider a credit monitoring service that will alert you when there’s an entry in your credit file.

If you do have your identity stolen or lose something vital, take action immediately by completing the following:

Step One: Contact the fraud department of the Credit Reporting Agencies:

· Equifax | 1-800-525-6285 | www.equifax.com

· Experian | 1-888-397-3742 | www.experian.com

· Trans Union | 1-800-680-7289 | www.transunion.com

Step Two: Contact the account issuer

• Ask for the fraud/security department of the fraudulent account

• Notify them by phone and in writing

• Close the affected accounts

Step Three: Contact your local police department

• Notify the police department in the community where it occurred

• Obtain copies of all police reports

Keep a detailed log of all contacts:

• Location called

• Name, title, and call back number of persons you spoke to

• Write down what the procedures are for that entity.

Remember it’s much easier to stop the shopping spree before it ever begins then to clean-up the mess of fraudulent debt later. The impact of identify theft may have long-term consequences.

Contact the agencies below for help:

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) collects information about ongoing scams to share with law enforcement

• FTC Consumer Response Center | 1-877-382-4357 | www.ftc.gov-FTC

• Identity Theft Hotline | 1-877-438-4338 | www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft-FTC

• Do Not Call Registry | 1-800-275-8777 | www.donotcall.gov

Internet Crime Complaint Center | www.ic3.gov

Rice County Attorney’s Office-507-332-6103