I was such an idiot. A fortunate idiot, however, due to the fact that despite being blissfully unaware of how unguarded I have kept my personal information all these years, I am not yet a victim of identity theft.
We have all heard it before: shred your documents, don’t throw them away. Protect your social security number; don’t give out personal info to anyone you don’t know; don’t use obvious passwords; blah, blah, blah. Yet, for some reason none of this advice ever really alarmed me until I met Bristol County Deputy Sheriff Liisa Budge-Johnson.
Budge-Johnson is an expert at scams and identity theft, and she is a professional at scaring the pants off people into protecting their personal information. She goes from town to town, giving talks on the subject of ID theft and professional scamming and schooling people on the myriad ways they may have been leaving the proverbial door wide open for identity theft.
If nobody has been able to get through to you yet about the importance of deterring, detecting, and defending against scams and identity theft, then leave it to Budge-Johnson to get your attention.
Budge-Johnson gave an important presentation on October 2 at the Elizabeth Taber Library in Marion about the ways one could easily steal another’s identity, what we should not be doing, and what we should do instead. The main message was this: scams are not just for the elderly. People of all ages are vulnerable to scams and identity theft these days. Scam artists and identity thieves are getting better and better at what they do – more and more convincingly – and in this age of technology, personal information is easier and easier to get a hold of.
I didn’t, but did you know that any jerk could buy a device the size of a pack of gum that they could use to quickly swipe your credit card and store your credit information on a tiny drive to use for later? Think of the last time you gave a waiter your credit card at a restaurant or handed your card over to a bartender to open up a tab (Guilty). Just don’t do it, says Budge-Johnson.
“Never let your credit card out of your sight,” she said. “You don’t ever want to lose sight of it.” This tiny card scanner fits in the palm of the hand and only takes half a second to steal your credit card info.
What should you do then? That’s right – just use cash in these situations.
“Cash is king,” said Budge-Johnson.
And with that cash, you might buy a paper shredder while you’re at it.
A paper shredder, says Budge-Johnson, is the most important household appliance you should own. You might be surprised to know that throwing things away in your recycle bin that only have simple bits of information such as your name, address, which bank you use, or any other statements with seemingly unimportant info can easily be gathered and pieced together like a puzzle to reveal who you are (Guilty).
And the social security documents, IRS and tax information, and Medicare bills stored unsecured around your house are, said Budge-Johnson, “more valuable to a thief than your big screen TV.” Papers with sensitive information should be stored in a secure location in your home and not left lying around for thieves to find. And while we are on the subject of your home – that underwear drawer – it’s not as secure as you think it is, Budge-Johnson said, so just try to be creative when you hide your valuables.
“Nobody is going to go looking in your Yahtzee box for your valuables,” said Budge-Johnson. “Be more clever. Don’t be so obvious.”
And if you are like most people, you get home and put your purse or wallet in the same place every time, usually by the door (Guilty).
“Put it in the cabinet, put it in the closet,” said Budge-Johnson. “Put it somewhere; just don’t leave it in sight.”
Yes, ma’am.
Identity thieves have several techniques to try to get your personal information. They could even possibly pull off a change of address with the post office since sometimes, according to Budge-Johnson, a form of identification isn’t requested. Then all of your important mail could be forwarded right to the thief.
Seniors are often targeted using a Medicare-related themed scam to get them to give up their information easily since this is a service most seniors rely on. And since Medicare card numbers are still issued as the recipient’s social security numbers, Budge-Johnson said it is one card you should never carry around in your wallet with you.
Her advice: “Make a copy of your card and blacken out the numbers,” said Budge-Johnson. “This information is just too important to carry around.” In the event of an emergency, said Budge-Johnson, the doctor is not going to withhold care because they don’t have your Medicare card information. Leave your Medicare card at home.
And the scams out there – some of them are quite convincing, some not quite so. But some scam artists know just how to play with people’s emotions to alter their rational thinking enough to make them act hastily.
OK, perhaps you won’t fall for the “you won the international lottery” email scam (international lotteries are illegal, by the way), or the inheritance your long-lost uncle in Nigeria left you, but that email from “Comcast” saying they will shut off your service if you don’t update your personal information has a way of eliciting enough panic to overlook the one or two grammatical errors that are the telltale signs of a scam.
If you get an email from a cable company, a credit card provider or any other utility, your best bet is to call the company directly. Just do not give out your information to anyone you yourself did not contact. The ones like this, Budge-Johnson added, are the ones that get seniors most often.
Budge-Johnson’s recommendation to all is simple: if you don’t recognize the phone number on the caller-ID, don’t answer it. Let the voicemail or answering machine get it. If you do get a call from a telemarketer or a charity, call the company or charity directly before doing business with them.
“And under no circumstances, do not leave a check outside the door in an envelope,” said Budge-Johnson. “I don’t care who the charity is.”
And nobody besides the IRS or the Social Security Administration needs to have your social security number. Period, said Budge-Johnson. There is always an alternative, she said. “But they won’t tell you that. They want to make it as difficult as possible. They want you to just give up your number.”
Budge-Johnson’s advice to all is to check your credit report at least once a year because someone could have already stolen your identity and you might not even know it.
Budge-Johnson said many women over the age of 60 have never even seen their own credit history report, simply because their whole life they relied on their husband’s credit for business.
“Which almost makes it more dangerous,” she said.
It is not that we are stupid, said Budge-Johnson. It’s just that these people know what to do to get you to give it up. And once you do, she said, they won’t stop until you have nothing left they can take.
Getting scammed is nothing to be ashamed of, said Budge-Johnson. If you find yourself a victim, especially if you are a senior citizen, you must speak up and get help. You cannot get out of it alone. And if you are too afraid to tell a family member, get help somewhere else.
“Go to someone at the Council on Aging, go to the police…” said Budge-Johnson. “You’re gonna need help to get out of it.”
Budge-Johnson said you can order your credit history report by calling 1 (877) FACT-ACT. And be extra cautious to dial 877. If you use 800, 888, or 866, you just might be calling the bad guys who are hoping you make that very mistake. There is no charge for your credit history report.
For more information about scams and ID theft or to hear more about the variety of subjects on which Budge-Johnson gives talks to the public, contact Deputy Liisa Budge-Johnson, outreach coordinator at 508-732-1852 or via email at lbjohnson@pcsdma.org.
By Jean Perry
