Be Mindful of Identity Theft Tactics

There are to protect personal information in an effort to not become a victim of identity theft—but how do criminals get their hands on such information anyway (from bank account numbers to tax records?)

The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department on Wednesday released a list of 14 methods residents should be aware of that identity thieves use to gain access to private information:

1. Skimming: thieves can steal credit and debit card numbers by using a special storage device attached to ATM machines that reads the magnetic strip on your card.
2. Phishing: by pretending to be financial institutions or companies, thieves can send spam or pop-up messages to you online to encourage you to reveal your personal information—never click on these messages.
3. Changing your address: thieves can divert your billing statements to another location by completing a change of address form. If bills don’t arrive on time, it might mean that someone has done this and changed contact information on your accounts to hide fraudulent charges.
4. Old-fashioned stealing: just from snatching wallets and purses, thieves can gain access to your financial accounts. 
5. Pretexting: thieves might be able to obtain your personal information directly from you, by requesting it under false pretenses (claiming to be from a financial institution or telephone company.)
6. Fishing: believe it or not, thieves use string to lower pieces of cardboard covered with glue down blue, public mailboxes and open envelops that stick, looking for personal information they can steal.
7. Dumpster diving: thieves will go through your trash looking for bills, credit cards and other information. So, always shred anything containing your personal information including credit card offers and “convenience checks” that you don’t use.
8. Information retrieval: thieves can get personal information from old computer hard drives. Have your hard drive professionally erased before disposing it. 
9. Victim research: thieves access government registers, Internet search engines, and public records to gain pieces of your personal information online.
10. Remote thievery: using radio frequency devices, thieves can read contactless or smartcard credit cards remotely.
11. Shoulder surfing: a thief can simply “eavesdrop” on transactions you make in public and pick up whatever useful information you disclose. So, try to always make financial decisions in private.
12. Computer identity theft: with the use of computer viruses and hacking thieves can get personal information from your computer.
13. Employment scams: these scams advertise bogus job and request personal information from applicants. Never give out personal identification information without knowing whom you are dealing with.
14. Social networking: thieves regularly look at social networking sites to steal personal information that they can use to commit fraud. Always be mindful of what you post online.

Earlier: