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Information Security
Identity Theft
Identity theft is a federal crime in which an imposter
obtains information by false pretenses for personal gain.
Information (Social Security Number, drivers license, credit
card numbers) can be snatched in a variety of ways... however,
computers have contributed significantly to the growing numbers
of identity thefts in the past few years. Please see the topics below for a comprehensive look at the identity theft
and how you can take a proactive role to keep your identity
safe.
- How to avoid being a victim?
- Steps you can take to reduce you risk
- Additional Information
Identity theft is the deliberate act of using another person’s
identifying information without that person’s knowledge to:
- Obtain services, merchandise, money, and/or credit.
- Commit felonies or misdemeanors.
- File for bankruptcy.
- Personal identifying information distinguishes one person from another.
It includes:
- Name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Social Security number
- Mother’s maiden name
- Bank account number
- Credit card number
- Passport
- Driver’s license
- State identification card
- Birth certificate
- Health insurance policy number
- Telephone or cell phone account
- Medical records
- Email address
How to avoid being a victim?
- Never give your Social Security number—or personal information of any
kind—over the telephone or online unless you initiate the
contact.
- Check your credit reports - Look for telltale markers of identity
theft, say, an address change you didn't make or new account
you didn't open. Cancel accounts you don't use or only
rarely use—open credit is a prime target.
- Monitor your bank account statements frequently for suspicious
activity. And don't have blank checks mailed to your home;
pick them up at your bank instead.
- Be careful at ATMs. "Shoulder surfers" can get your account and PIN
numbers.
- If you use a computer at home, protect yourself by installing firewall
software.
- Don't write down PIN numbers, passwords and the like—commit them to
memory.
- Don't leave mail in your mailbox overnight on weekends - deposit
outgoing mail at the post office and promptly remove mail
from your mailbox after delivery.
- Shred or tear up unwanted documents that contain personal information
before discarding them in the trash.
- Every year, order and thoroughly review copies of your credit report
from each of the three major credit reporting agencies.
- Never give personal identifying information over the telephone or the
Internet unless you initiated the contact.
Steps You Can Take to Reduce Your Risk
(complements of Rutgers University)
Your identity is one of your most valuable assets. Protect
yourself by knowing where your identity is exposed and how to
defend it against identity thieves. A small effort on your part
to change key habits and practices could keep you from becoming
a victim. Anything you can do to keep criminals away from your
personal data helps to reduce your risk of identity theft.
Here's what identity thieves covet most:
- Your name, address, and phone
- Your date of birth
- Your Social Security number (SSN)
- Your driver's license number
- Your credit card information
- Your bank account information
- Your mother's maiden name
Steps can be taken to help protect the following areas:
Your SSN
- Your Social Security number is the key to cloning your identity. Therefore:
- Do not carry your Social Security card in your wallet. Avoid carrying cards that display your SSN — notably health insurance
cards, unless needed to receive care.
- Never give your SSN, credit card number, or other personal data
by phone unless you have an existing relationship with the
business or agency AND you initiated the call using a verified
phone number. Always verify the other party's authenticity.
- Avoid including your SSN on job applications. Provide it only
when absolutely necessary - for tax, employment, and student
records, stock and property transactions, and so on.
- If a government agency requests your SSN, look for an
accompanying Privacy Act notice indicating whether an SSN is
required, how it will be used, and what happens if you don't
provide it.
Your Bank Accounts
- Frequent monitoring of your bank accounts will help to detect
and stop fraud. Research indicates that the risk and size of
fraud loss for consumers who frequently monitor their accounts
online is lower than those who don't monitor accounts regularly
online. Most financial institutions use online banking to
provide free 24/7 access to your accounts.
- Use email alerts in your online banking account to notify you of
account activity, such as billpay transactions, balance
thresholds, transaction size, and account transfers (both within
your bank and between institutions).
- Monitor and reconcile your check activity by viewing check
images online. Many financial institutions offering checking
accounts provide you with the ability to view the check images
online. Regularly viewing these check images online helps stop
check fraud.
Reduce paper transactions
- Use online bill pay and e-bills to remove confidential
information from the mail and improve tracking of payments. Many
financial institutions now offer free online bill pay.
- For all your financial accounts, enroll in online statements and
choose to receive your monthly account statements online instead
of receiving a monthly paper statement. Research indicates >10%
of identity theft is caused by stolen mail or trash.
Mail and Marketing Lists
- Use a secure locking mailbox or a P.O. Box.
- Never place outbound mail (at work or at home) in an open,
unlocked mailbox. Never leave mail in your car. During long
absences, have mail held at the post office or have a trusted
neighbor pick it up.
- Investigate immediately if expected bills or statements from
financial institutions do not arrive on time. Be especially
vigilant in January and April when tax documents are sent.
- Never simply discard "pre-approved" credit offers you receive in
the mail. Always shred them.
- To keep pre-approved credit offers from being sent to you,
remove your name permanently from the mail offer lists by
visiting
OptOutPrescreen.com. You can also opt out by calling
1.888.5OPT.OUT (1.888.567.8688), but only for a five-year
period.
- Add your name to the
National
Do-Not-Call Registry, as well as to your state's
Do-Not-Call list (if it has one). Add your name to name-deletion
lists used by nationwide marketers at
www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html.
- Whenever possible, say "No" to the sharing of your data by
financial institutions, credit card companies, and insurance or
investment firms.
Trash and Shredding
- Shred anything that contains your name, address, or other
sensitive data before discarding, using a crosscut shredder —
including invoices, receipts, statements, personalized pitch
letters and envelopes, catalogs, and pre-approved credit offers.
- Don't discard sensitive documents at work unless you're sure
they'll be shredded properly.
- Take your trash out immediately before it is due to be
collected. Don't give identity thieves time to go through your
trash.
Your checks
- Never let merchants write your SSN on your checks. It's illegal
in many states, and it puts you at risk.
- Do not have your SSN, driver's license number, or home phone
number printed on your checks. If you have a P.O. Box, use that
instead of your home address.
- Pick up new checks at the bank instead of having them mailed to
your home address.
- Don't leave outbound envelopes containing payments in a home or
office mailbox for pickup, in a car, or in any other place where
they might be stolen. Checks can be altered and cashed, and
provide the thief with your account information.
Your
wallet or purse
At work, always store your wallet or purse in a safe place.
Avoid carrying the following items:
- Your Social Security card (or your dependents')
- Your birth certificate
- Your passport
- Your military identification card
- A
driver's license or insurance card with your SSN (or that of a
family member)
- A
list of your banking information (PINs, logins, passwords, or
account numbers)
- Paychecks or pay stubs
- Deposit slips
- More than two credit or debit cards
- Receipts with your full credit card number displayed
- Any card that might store your SSN or other sensitive data on a
magnetic stripe, such as a gas card, electronic hotel key, or
employee ID.
Credit,
debit, and ATM cards
- If a new or reissued credit card that's been mailed to you does
not arrive on time, contact the issuer immediately.
- Minimize the number of credit cards you use, and carry only one
or two at a time. Cancel unused accounts to reduce your
exposure. However, be aware that canceling credit cards may
affect your credit score adversely.
- Review your credit card statements, bank statements, and phone
bills (including mobile phones) carefully each month for
unauthorized use.
- Keep a list or photocopies of credit cards, bank accounts, and
investments in a secure place (not your wallet or purse).
Include account numbers, expiration dates, and phone numbers for
customer service and fraud departments, so you can contact them
quickly.
Credit
reports and credit files
- Check your credit reports as frequently as possible, at least
twice a year. Under the FACT Act, U.S. consumers are entitled to
one free credit report each year from each of the three major
credit bureaus. For details, visit
www.annualcreditreport.com.
- Enroll in credit monitoring to track changes to your credit
file. Enroll in fraud monitoring (non-credit database
monitoring) to be warned of attempts to alter or acquire your
identity data.
- Check your Social Security Statement each year for signs of
fraud. The Social Security Administration mails this statement
to adult SSN holders about three months before their birthdays.
Shopping
and application forms
- Never toss credit card receipts into a public trash container.
Always take them with you and shred them at home. Carry receipts
in your wallet, not in the bag, so you don't mistakenly throw
them out.
- When signing a credit card receipt, note whether your entire
account number is displayed, or merely the last four digits. If
the entire number shows, cross it out before leaving the signed
receipt behind.
- When paying a bill with a credit or debit card, always keep the
waiter, cashier, or bartender in view. Pocket-sized "skimming"
devices can capture your credit card information for later use.
- When filling out applications for loans, credit, mobile phones,
or other services, find out how the company stores and disposes
of your data. If you aren't convinced that your information is
safe, take your business elsewhere. Some auto dealerships,
department stores, car rental agencies, and video stores treat
customer applications carelessly.
Web
sites and email
- Do not provide credit card numbers or personal information on
any web site if you aren't sure the site is authentic. Choose
companies with secure transactions and strong privacy and
security policies.
- Never open spam and other email from unknown sources — it may
contain viruses or other programs that make your computer
vulnerable to intrusion.
- Never click on a link in an email claiming to come from a
financial institution or business, and never provide personal or
account data in response. The email may be a fake sent by "phishing"
scammers.
- When entering personal information online, even on well-known
web sites, watch for signs that you've been redirected to a
"cloned" replica site where your data can be captured without
your knowledge (a fraud technique called "pharming"). Such signs
include odd error messages, unexpected page design or content,
or other strange site behavior.
Computers and networks
- Install a firewall on your home computer to keep hackers out —
especially if you connect to the Internet by DSL or cable modem.
Install virus protection and keep it updated. Some viruses are
designed to send sensitive data to identity thieves from your
computer.
- Before disposing of a computer or hard drive, remove data using
a strong "wipe" utility program. Do not rely on the "delete"
function to remove files containing sensitive information.
- If possible, encrypt sensitive data that is sent or stored in
digital form.
- Always store personal files and data securely in your home,
especially if you have roommates, employ outside help, or have
service work done in your home. (This applies to paper as well.)
Passwords and PINs
- Never use the last four digits of your SSN, your mother's maiden
name, your birth date, your middle name, your child's name, your
pet's name, or anything else that's easily discovered or
guessed. If your financial institution uses the last four digits
of your SSN as your default PIN, change it.
- Memorize all your passwords. Combine letters and numbers and
change your passwords frequently. Don't record them on anything
you carry in a wallet or purse. Ask financial institutions to
add extra security to your account by requiring an additional
code or password.
- Password-protect computer files that contain sensitive personal
or account data.
- Shield your hand at an ATM or when making long distance calls
with a phone card. Shoulder surfers may be nearby with
binoculars or cameras. Avoid giving personal data by phone in a
public place.
Additional Information:
Information Security Office
Office of Technology Services
Cook Library, 4
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
E-mail: infosec@towson.edu
Administration and Finance Questions
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