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Help for Victims of Identity TheftThe Suffolk County District Attorney's Office's Special Prosecutions Unit is comprised of prosecutors and investigators trained and experienced in the investigation and prosecution of economic crime, organized crime, computer crime, and public corruption. The Special Prosecutions Unit investigates and prosecutes crimes that include identity theft, internal embezzlement, organized fraud operations, computer crime, and online child exploitation. Members of the Unit educate law enforcement, and the community-at-large, in topics including computer crime, Internet safety, and economic crime. The members of the Special Prosecutions Unit also recommend changes in legislation pertaining to economic crime and computer crime, as well as initiatives designed to assist victims of these types of crime.
Identity theftIdentity theft is a growing problem in Massachusetts and across the country. District Attorney Conley is committed to the fight against the perpetrators of these crimes. Each year millions of U.S. citizens fall victim to the perpetrators of identity theft and their schemes, costing those citizens and financial institutions hundreds of millions of dollars. In September of 2003, the Federal Trade Commission released the results of a survey it conducted on identity theft. Their figures indicate that in the last five years, 27.3 million Americans were victims of identity theft. In 2002 alone, the number of identity theft victims was approximately 9.9 million Americans. The cost to financial institutions and businesses from these crimes approached $48 billion. Victims reported $5 billion in out-of-pocket expenses to remedy the effects of the fraud. (For a copy of the complete Federal Trade Commission report, click here: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/09/idtheft.htm).For other information on the prevention, detection, or response to identity theft, identity theft statistics, or to learn more about the latest scams, check out these sites: United States Department of Justice http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html United States Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Site http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/ United States Social Security Administration http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/idtheft.htm Return to top of page How to protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft1. Order copies of your credit report from each of the major credit reporting agencies. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act you are entitled to one free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies each year. These agencies now offer plans for consumers to monitor their credit information. To order a copy of your credit report or get more information, contact:Equifax P.O. Box 105873 Atlanta, GA 30348-5873 1-800-997-2493 http://www.equifax.com/home/ Experian Information Systems P.O. Box 949 Allen, TX 75013-0949 1-888-397-3742 http://www.experian.com/personal-credit/free-credit-report.html TransUnion P.O. Box 390 Springfield, PA 19064-0390 1-800-916-8800 http://www.transunion.com/corporate/personal/personal.page 2. Protect your mail from theft by using locked mailboxes and promptly removing mail from mailboxes. 3. If you do not receive mail that you expect, including credit card statements or bills, contact your creditors or the person or business from whom you expected the mail. 4. If you receive mail from creditors for lines of credit you did not expect, or, you receive an increased amount of junk mail, credit solicitations, or catalogs, check your credit report and contact the companies sending these items. 5. Shred junk mail, bank statements, and all other documents containing personal information, especially credit solicitations, prior to throwing them in the trash. 6. Always know where your credit cards and identifications are, especially when they contain personal information about you. Cancel credit cards you do not use. When these items expire, shred or destroy them completely. On occasion, inventory the contents of your wallet so in the event you lost it you know exactly what has been lost. 7. Never give out personal information over the phone or the Internet unless: (1) you initiated the conversation; (2) it is absolutely necessary; and (3) you know exactly who you are speaking to or communicating with. Only transfer personal information over secure Internet sites. 8. Notify your creditors, bank, Post Office, Registry of Motor Vehicles, and other companies of your change of address in advance. 9. Report the theft of any item containing your personal identifying information to your local police department immediately upon discovery. 10. Be aware of who has access to your personal information at the places you work, study, receive medical attention, bank, or in any other setting when you are asked to provide it. If you don't know who has access to it, ask who does. 11. Carry the minimal amount of personal identifying information. Don't carry your social security card. Memorize the number instead. Whenever possible, do not use your social security number to identify yourself. Request that you be allowed to provide other identifying information. 12. To opt-out of pre-approved credit offers, call 1-888-567-8688. 13. When choosing passwords, avoid using obvious names or numbers. Choose unique passwords that only you know, and memorize them. Do not attach or keep passwords with ATM cards. Don't ever release passwords to anyone. When using ATM's, beware of people trying to see you type in passwords. Return to top of page What to do if you believe you are a victim of identity theftUnder Massachusetts law, identity theft occurs when a person uses (or obtains in order to use) a victim's personal identifying information to fraudulently obtain money, credit, goods, services, identification cards, or anything of value, or to harass the victim, with the intent to defraud. Identity thieves sometimes pose as victims in order to get credit, open bank accounts, or get other identifications. Other times, identity thieves are arrested and pose as the victim when in custody or being processed by the courts. If you think this may have happened to you, here are some steps you should take to start on the road to recovering your good name.1. Document everything, including the amount of time you spend recovering your credit. Report credit cards, licenses, and all other personal documents or identification stolen or lost to the issuing company and the police immediately upon discovery. 2. Call your local police department and the police department in the city or state where your identity is being used. File a report with the respective police department and ask that they send you a copy of the report. You may need this report to file with creditors later. On rare occasions, identity thieves will use victim's names when accused of a crime, or courts will issue warrants for your arrest although you committed no crime, because your name is listed as a person who opened bank accounts or lines of credit. Ask the police department to check for warrants in your name so you can resolve any open court cases. 3. Order copies of your credit report from all three reporting agencies below. When you receive the report scrutinize the information, including the lines of credit and different personal information detailed about you. Visit the credit reporting agency web sites or follow the instruction on the credit report to challenge any mistaken information on the credit report. You may also consider putting a fraud alert on your accounts. If you discover that there are lines of credit on your report that you did not open, report it to the credit reporting agency and the company extending the line of credit. The contact information for each of the major credit reporting agencies is as follows: Equifax P.O. Box 105873 Atlanta, GA 30348-5873 1-800-997-2493 http://www.equifax.com/home/ Experian Information Systems P.O. Box 949 Allen, TX 75013-0949 1-888-397-3742 http://www.experian.com/personal-credit/free-credit-report.html TransUnion P.O. Box 390 Springfield, PA 19064-0390 1-800-916-8800 http://www.transunion.com/corporate/personal/personal.page 4. Call the Registry of Motor Vehicles to be sure that no other identification has been issued in your name. If there has been, file a report with the Registry of Motor Vehicles and get a new license with a new license number. 5. Contact your bank to be sure that there has been no suspicious activity on your account. If necessary, create new accounts with new account numbers and passwords. 6. Contact the National Check Protection Service Consumer Line to report that you have been the victim of identity theft and to see if any bank accounts have been opened in your name recently. The National Check Protection Service collects information on bank customers on the behalf of member banks. The National Check Protection Service can be reached at 1-800-838-1980. 7. Contact your local Post Office to be sure that you are receiving your mail. 8. If you need a new Social Security card or want to consider a new Social Security Number, you can learn more about the process on the website for the Social Security Administration by clicking here: http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/idtheft.htm 9. For further information on dealing with creditors or the credit bureaus, or if you would like to file an online complaint, you can reach the Federal Trade Commission at the following links: Online Complaint Form http://www.nw3c.com/partnerships/ic3.cfm Return to top of page
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