When it comes to identity theft, I find most folks are in one of two camps: They either live in fear of it, or they never consider it. I’m hopeful you can get to somewhere in the middle of those two camps.
My office recently had one of our clients become a victim of identity theft. Sadly, there was a financial loss. We are optimistic that the financial loss will be absorbed by the bank where the accounts were breached and improperly swindled. A very important part of the ordeal is the amount of time my client is having to spend to try and clean up this mess. Perhaps most important is the feeling of their personal space being violated. Fortunately, this person was able to catch the criminal before it went too far. Many times, we hear about a credit card account being compromised by someone we never know or see. In this instance, the thief was a person they actually know who lives here in our town. It was also a local bank account that was corrupted – not a credit card account. Whenever identity theft happens it is disappointing, hurtful and scary. In this instance with my friend, they were able to deal with it very well by going to the bank and receiving assistance from their staff, and also meeting with the police department detective in order to start an investigation and ultimately have charges brought against this thief. Please notice I didn’t use the word “alleged” thief. This person is definitely a thief. This criminal was stupid enough to call the bank on a recorded line and attempt to change information on the account and apply for a debit card to be sent out on the account. The bank recorded the caller ID of the caller and also the conversation. The reason this person was able to gain the information assisting them in stealing money was through stealing mail from the account owner’s postal mailbox at their home.
Over the years I have had clients who have had their identity stolen, or “compromised” as some people like to call it, in different ways and methods. One of my most appalling was a client who filed their tax return and learned that someone else had filed a tax return prior to that time for that year with their identity and had requested a refund of some fair size and had already received the refund through direct deposit to a nefarious bank account. Yes, they had gotten away with stealing money from the United States government and in the process made a huge mess for my innocent client. Yes, this matter got straightened out. But not before a lot of forms and letters and phone calls and TIME – as in several months – were spent getting this matter resolved.
There are obviously steps we can all take that will help us not fall prey to thieves of our identity. Guarding against identity theft is a matter of common-sense security. Among many things that can help, one of the easiest ways to help protect yourself is to not give out or share your personally identifiable information unless you are absolutely, positively certain you are sharing this information with a reliable source. If you have the slightest concern, DON’T. Businesses and organizations that need any of your personally identifiable information are very good at explaining why they need that information. I have found these legitimate organizations are also very accommodating to help a person who is questioning them. If your gut feeling/intuition is not good, then don’t give out your info. Protecting our personally identifiable information is very important. However, at the end of the day, there are a handful of criminals in the world and if they set their mind to it, they will break the law and cause us harm. All we can do is our best to try and protect ourselves. We should not live in fear of the bad people in the world. Just being aware of the bad people and protecting ourselves as best we can, and prosecuting those who steal from us, is all we can do.
Several years ago, a man I knew had an employee that had stolen (embezzled) from him. When he shared the story with me, I inquired as to what the police and courts were going to ultimately do with this thief. He told me he wasn’t going to pursue it with the police. When I asked why, he told me he was embarrassed and didn’t want anyone in the public to know he had been such a fool to trust this thief. No amount of reasoning from me would change this fellow’s mind. Not only did I hate it for him, but I also hated it for the several others this thief went on to steal from as well. I wish this weren’t true, but it did happen. When he was finally confronted by someone that went to the police with the matter, he was ultimately stopped and sentenced under the law to prison. Had the victim I knew come forward when he was wronged, it would have saved many others from the same fate. If your identity is stolen, or if someone steals from you, tell someone in a position to help you. Tell the police. They won’t brush it aside. If not the police, then tell a trusted friend who will help you. Don’t sweep it under the rug. Not only will you be sticking up for yourself, you may well be helping someone else from being wronged. If my team or I can help you in any way, please call on us.
-by Ben Smith
Registered Principal, RJFS
313 East 10th Ave. • Bowling Green, KY 42101 • Phone: 270-846-2656
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