Detectives share ways to prevent identity theft

Locked post office boxes, stronger PINs a good place to start beefing up security

Prevention, Prevention, Prevention.

When it comes to identity theft, Texas-side forgery and fraud Detectives Lisa Green and Brian Purcell use this mantra to stress the importance of taking small, simple steps in order to stop identity theft before it starts.

“Identity theft has become a serious issue over the last decade,” said Shawn Vaughn, Texarkana, Texas, Police Department spokesman. “The problem is that people often do not even realize that they have been victimized until weeks or possibly months after it happens.”

Purcell said a lot of identity theft starts with mail theft and happens even more frequently during the holiday season, which is just around the corner.

Arkansas-side Cpl. Kristi Bennett agreed, stating the most common reports of identity theft received by Texarkana, Ark., Police Department originate from stolen mail from citizens’ home mailboxes.

“Mail theft is a huge starting place for identity theft,” Purcell

said. Detectives say thieves can take statements from your bank, credit card bills and other bits of mail to gather your personal information. This risk can be minimized, according to detectives, by checking mail often, knowing when your mail normally arrives and retrieving bills as soon as possible, or simply by keeping new checks out of the mail by picking them up at your bank, rather than having them mailed to your home.

A locked post office box is also recommended as a safer alternative when receiving mail with personal information.

“Vigilance in watching accounts is also very important,” Green said. Small changes in habits can help prevent a lot of identity theft—such as making sure your purse is closed while shopping so thieves can’t snatch and grab and not leaving valuables in your car.

“The sooner identity theft is discovered, the better,” Purcell said. “Take advantage of any free security measures offered by your bank and make sure your records are up to date.”

Most banks offer some type of security to detect transactions that seem abnormal, such as out-of-state or large purchases that aren’t normally made, they said.

“Some will call you immediately and ask you, for example, ‘Are you at Sears in Ohio buying a refrigerator?’” Purcell said.

Purcell and Green agreed identity theft does not discriminate based on gender or age and said they have seen about 200 cases of identity theft reported so far this year and that’s just what’s been reported.

Note: These 200 reported cases are just on the Texas-side.

Bennett said cases of property theft from vehicles have increased on Arkansas-side, and they often lead to fraud and identity theft.

“The most common reports that we receive here originate from stolen mail from resident’s mailboxes, stolen wallets or stolen purses,” Bennett said.

Purcell stressed the importance of using random personal identification numbers and passwords for accounts and not including personal information such as yours or your spouse’s date of birth, Social Security numbers, pet’s names or house numbers. Pick something random, but make sure it’s something you can remember.

“Don’t use 1234 as a password or PIN, either,” he said, adding it is important to limit the amount of personal information you carry around—such as your Social Security card.

Indicators that your identity might have been stolen, according to Vaughn, are finding purchases you did not make on monthly bank or credit card statements; receiving a credit card for which you never applied; calls from debt collectors requesting payment on things you never purchased; letters denying you credit, though you’ve never applied for any; fraudulent or inaccurate information on your credit report; or a sudden absence of bills or mail from companies you do business with.

You might stop receiving mail from companies with which you do business because thieves might have changed the address on your account in an effort to hide felonious transactions. This goes back to the common method of identity theft that starts with stolen mail.

Bennett summed up some rules to remember to help protect yourself from identity fraud:

Never give out any person information to anyone over phone or by email.

Properly displace of all personal documents through a shredder.

Use a specialized gel pen when writing checks.

Place outgoing mail in collection boxes at the U.S. Post Office.

Use unique passwords and change them frequently.

As with any crime, police agree that if you find yourself victim of fraud or identity theft, you should report your case to detectives immediately.

“The faster reported, the better,” said Purcell, adding that reports of discovered identity theft vary from 6 hours to 6 months after the actual theft.

“Prevention, Prevention, Prevention,” Green said. “Vigilance is the key.”