by Jamie Belnap
STAFF WRITER
Chances are you have probably written a check at the grocery store, mailed bills from your mailbox, shopped online and casually discarded credit card offers before without giving these matters a second thought. And that is just what identity thieves would like you to do.
As many as 9 million Americans fall victim to identity theft each year, according to the Federal Trade Commission. And evidence suggests more and more county residents are falling into the trap with them.
Andrea Staheli, fraud prevention specialist for HeritageWest Credit Union, formerly Tooele Federal Credit Union, said in 2006 the credit union prevented $402,970 in fraud/identity theft loss. In 2007, that number jumped to $458,988.
"And for 2008, so far we are on target to beat last year's number," Staheli said, adding that because these numbers reflect prevented loss, she is happy the number is increasing, but unfortunately it means this type of crime is increasing as well.
"It's a growing problem and it is very seasonal," Staheli said. "We see a lot of it in the month leading up to Christmas, around the beginning of the school year, and the beginning of summer, which I can only speculate is because these are times that people are a little more desperate."
Most identity theft crimes locally are directly associated with theft over the Internet, said Detective Aaron Shepard, who handles financial crimes for the Tooele City Police Department. This makes thieves hard to track down because often times they don't live within the department's jurisdictional area -- or even in the United States.
"This is a fairly difficult crime to investigate," Shepard said. "The paper trail -- or lack of paper trail -- is hard to follow."
Shepard added, however, that it's still extremely beneficial for victims to file a police report because information and evidence can be added to a national database that can help link identity theft crimes together and potentially track down a thief living in another state.
Additionally, Shepard said the Attorney General's office has a database called IRIS (Identity Theft Reporting Information Systems) that can aid victims in reporting crimes to area authorities where they believe the theft was committed.
"Say you are a victim in Tooele of identity theft that happened across the country," Shepard said. "You can report it on IRIS and they will forward it to the agency where the incident occurred."
Shepard and Staheli both said the best way for an individual to protect themselves from identity theft is to treat personal information like gold.
"People are giving out their information so freely. It's unreal," Shepard said. "For example, when the power went out recently people were at a video rental place writing down their information on paper just to rent a movie. You don't know if someone is going to use that information for their own benefit."
Staheli said few people realize the importance of protecting their mail as well.
"They are leaving it out overnight with the big red flag up saying to a thief, 'Come and get me.'"
Instead, Staheli said people should drop mail in the blue postal boxes for pickup.
"People need to keep in mind that they shouldn't be giving out personal information to anyone unless they have initiated the contact," Staheli added. "Don't do it until you have researched it and know that it will be used for legitimate purposes."
Staheli also recommends that personal information -- including account numbers, pin numbers and social security cards -- should be stored in a secure location and never be carried with you.
"A lot of seniors are concerned because Social Security numbers are still printed on Medicare and Medicaid information," Staheli said. "My advice to them is to be hypersensitive about who comes in contact with that information."
Additionally, any documents containing personal information that are going to be thrown away should be cross-shredded first, Staheli said.
"The way I see it is, the fewer times my information is out there, the more protected I am," Staheli said. "There's no guarantee obviously, but it's making sure you're not the easiest target."
Recovery after identity theft has occurred is difficult, Staheli said.
"The first thing you've got to do is get some professionals involved," Staheli said. "Just like if you get in an accident and hurt your leg you go to the doctor to diagnose the problem and develop a course of action."
For example, if the crime involves damage to a checking account, contact the bank, or contact the credit card company if it involves unauthorized use of a credit card.
Starting Sept. 1, a new law will go into effect enabling consumers to put a security freeze on their credit report if they suspect identity theft or fraud. A security freeze is free for identity theft victims and costs $10 for non-victims. It ensures that no one can pull a credit report on that individual until he/she calls the credit bureau and gives them a password to remove the freeze.
"Right now I think it is the best tool to protect your identity and credit," Staheli said.
jamieb@tooeletranscript.com