Id Theft

Local and federal law enforcement agencies are warning consumers about a jury duty scam that attempts to steal your identity. In the scheme, someone posing as a court officer calls to inform you that you've missed a summons for jury duty and that there is a warrant issued for your arrest. When you protest that you never received the summons, the caller will then ask for your Social Security number and date of birth or ask you to verify personal data, such as credit card account numbers, to cancel the arrest warrant.

Two new state laws kick in soon, and Maryland consumers are the winners. One gives you a powerful tool - at very little cost - to fight identity theft. The other will prevent potentially thousands of young adults from suddenly being dropped from their parents' health insurance once they graduate from college. These are two big but very different consumer issues. Let's take them one at a time. First, the identity-theft weapon: the ability to put a "security freeze" on your credit report.

A review of Secret Service files has found that half of the cases of identity theft involved technological devices, such as computers, scanners and digital cameras, and only 10 percent were done exclusively through the Internet. In 20 percent of the other cases, thieves stole personal data the old-fashioned way. Low-tech tactics included rerouting mail by sending change-of-address requests to institutions handling credit-card and bank accounts, swiping items right from mailboxes, and "Dumpster diving" -- going through trash for personal information that can be used to produce counterfeit documents and to open credit accounts.

Major identity thieves obtain personal information from retailers, financial companies and other businesses about half the time, a new study suggests, undercutting a common perception that potential victims should worry most about being scammed by people they know. The federally funded study being released today paints a complex portrait of the signature crime of the digital age, one that has been the top consumer-fraud complaint to federal authorities for six consecutive years. Of more than 500 offenders arrested by the U.S. Secret Service between 2000 and 2006, 8 percent were related to or socially acquainted with victims whose sensitive data were used to write checks, take out loans or buy cars.

A 38-year-old Baltimore man was sentenced yesterday to six years in prison for bank fraud and aggravated identify theft for his role in fraudulently opening credit accounts, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Christopher Carson had pleaded guilty to opening accounts in the names of at least 15 victims, federal prosecutors said. Carson worked with Nekia Hunter, who purchased credit reports stolen from a mortgage company and then manufactured fraudulent Maryland driver's licenses for Carson and others.

A 29-year-old woman pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to an identity theft scheme in which she opened credit accounts in the names of at least 15 people and purchased more than $400,000 of merchandise, federal prosecutors said. Nekia Ishawn Hunter of Baltimore admitted to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and production of false identification documents, and she faces a maximum 47 years in prison when she is sentenced Oct. 26, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Consumers are scared into spending money unnecessarily every day. The newest bogeyman is identity theft. That's not to suggest identity theft isn't a serious problem for some people. And part of being a smart consumer is protecting your personal information so it's not misused. But the attention identity theft receives seems overblown: Just 1.5 percent of Americans annually fell victim to thieves opening accounts fraudulently, according to a report by the Federal Trade Commission. The fear generated by incessant discussion of identity theft, however, can make people susceptible to sales pitches for ID theft products and services.

If some in Congress have their way, the Internal Revenue Service will have to notify you if it discovers during an investigation that your identity has been stolen. This is one part of the Taxpayer Protection Act of 2007, which the House is expected to vote on next week just as taxpayers are rushing to beat the filing deadline. The vote is timely for another reason. The IRS inspector general reported this month that at least 490 agency laptops were stolen or lost over 3 1/2 years from employees' cars, residences and offices.

When identity thieves stole sensitive information about thousands of consumers from Alpharetta, Ga.-based ChoicePoint Inc. in February 2005, it caused a national uproar. Furious consumer advocates demanded changes in the way Social Security numbers, credit card information, and addresses are collected and kept by companies, government agencies and others. Lawmakers responded by proposing a flurry of new legislation. Nearly two years later, though, the number and the cost of data breaches is still growing.

By now, we've all heard about identity theft. But some of us are more vulnerable to the crime than others. Of those age 18 and older, people ages 25 to 34 are the most at risk of having personal information compromised, according to Javelin Strategy and Research's 2006 Identity Fraud Survey.. Although previous studies have identified this phenomenon, Javelin's is one of the largest ID theft surveys to date. Why are young adults more at risk? Javelin reasons that a mobile lifestyle creates more opportunity for identity theft.