A recent article in this column suggested that 70% of identity theft originates in the workplace and that less than 0.1% of organizations that possess our personally identifiable information take appropriate preventive steps to protect and secure that information.
Although a high-percentage of identity theft is not in our control, there are precautions that consumers can take to decrease their risk of identity theft.
Assume that the risk of identity theft is a 50/50 proposition. You control 50% of the risk and organizations—public, private, governmental, schools and not-for-profits contribute to the other 50% of the risk.
So what can you do within your circle of control and influence to minimize your risk of identity theft?
Protect your personally identifiable information. Tips for protecting your and your family’s identities have been discussed in many of the articles published in this column and in millions of other articles and news stories during the last decade.
Think before you share information with anyone. Your Social Security number, driver’s license number, financial account numbers, and date of birth are among the most sensitive numbers to protect. Below is a real story to serve as an example.
My publisher received an email recently from a customer that wanted to purchase one of my books. The person created a login on the publisher’s secure website. When the customer returned to the Website the next day to make an online purchase, they were unable to login to the account they created the day before. Frustrated, the person sent an email to the publisher’s customer support department explaining the problem. The client suggested that maybe their account had been compromised and referred of the strict wording in the Website’s privacy notice about security and not sharing information with third parties. (The actual issue was the customer simply forgot their password, and they should have requested that their password be reset.)
The point of the preceding verbose paragraph is that it sounds like the person understands privacy, security and the responsibility of the publisher to protect the customer’s login and account information.
So what did the customer do?
The customer stated they want to place an order for a book. The customer provided their full 16-digit debit card account number and the three-digit security code in the unsecure email they sent to the publisher’s customer support group.
The publisher’s Website is securely configured so that customer online payments are processed through a third-party secure payment processor that is compliant with the Payment Card Industry’s Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS). This approach used by the publisher assures customers that neither the publisher nor any of its employees ever see or have access to a customer’s account numbers. The customer circumvented a secure e-commerce system and put their bank account at risk by emailing their debit card account information and security code indiscriminately.
Sharing personal information over the phone or by an unsecure email or Website connection is extremely risky. Think before you share personal or account information with anyone.
A second way to minimize your risk of identity theft is to ask questions of any organization that requires your personally identifiable information to conduct a transaction.
On a positive note, the customer discussed in the previous paragraphs did just that. The customer’s email suggested that they actually took the time to read the publisher’s Website privacy notice.
Ask organizations that require your personally identifiable information about their privacy policy and ask them with which information security laws and standards they comply. For example, if the organization accepts credit cards, ask if they are PCI-DSS compliant. If they don’t understand your question about privacy and security or they give you a blank stare—that’s a clue that you may be at risk.
A third way to minimize risks of identity theft is to be attentive to clues that you are at risk or may already be a victim. Review your credit reports frequently and be sure to reconcile your financial account statements every month. Be on the lookout for questionable charges and withdrawals. If bill collectors are calling you at home, and you know you do not owe anyone money, those calls can be a clue that an identity thief owes money in your good name.
Everyone is on a treadmill in today’s hectic world. Many consumers are so busy they don’t have time prevent or detect identity theft. The paradox is they do not have time to prevent ID theft, and they certainly do not have time to clear their good name if they become victim. Clearing one’s name could take years and consume hundreds of hours of their life.
Busy consumers may find value in subscribing to one of the identity theft risk relief programs if the program makes sense and is affordable. Certain programs provide alerts if a monitored activity suggests the consumer may be in danger of identity theft. Some of the services actually provide complete restoration of the person’s identity they ever become a victim of identity theft—and not just advice.
Consumers must be vigilant of the possibility of identity all of the time.
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