how to prevent identity theft and fraud

CLB 3-4 Drop-in Workshop:

How to Prevent Identity Theft and

Fraud

Agenda•Objectives

•Introductions

•What is identity theft

•How does identity theft happen

•What information is most commonly stolen

•How our stolen information is used

•What can we do to prevent identity theft?

• Five case studies

Objectives

By the end of this workshop you should

know:

• What financial information should be

protected

• How to protect yourself from identity

theft and fraud

• What to do if you are a victim of

identity theft or fraud

Introductions

• What is your name?

• What is your country of Origin?

Reflection

• What is identity theft?

• Have you ever been a victim of

identity fraud?

• What happened?

• What did you learn?

What is identity theft?

• This is when somebody steals another

person’s personal information for the

purpose of engaging in criminal

activities.

What is identity fraud?

• This is when your personal

information is actually used by the

person who stole it.

Identity Theft

How can it happen?

How it can happen1. Dumpster Diving

How it can happen

2. Our own carelessness

How it can happen3. Car break-in

Photo by V31S70 http://bit.ly/1mhaR6e shared under CC BY 2.0

How it can happen4. Mail theft

How it can happen5. Financial institution fraud

Listen:

•What mistake did

Iliana make?

•What could she do

differently next time?

Iliana’s Financial Lesson

Fernando Oh, hi Iliana ... How are you today?

Iliana I ‘m ok I suppose. I’m just a little stressed out!

Fernando Why what’s wrong?

Iliana Well, I got a call from the credit card company because my credit card is maxed out!

Fernando Oh that’s too bad. It’s not like you to overspend.

Iliana That’s the problem. It’s a brand new card. I never even had a chance to use it!

Fernando Well then how did it get maxed out?

Iliana This is why I am stressed out. I went to go and check my wallet and it’s gone! I think it was stolen!

Iliana’s Financial LessonFernando That is a problem! Where did you leave it?

Iliana By accident I left it on the front seat of my car yesterday afternoon. I was in a hurry. I was going to go back to my car because I planned to go to the store for milk, but then I changed my mind. I completely forgot I left it on the front seat. Oh, and one more thing....

Fernando What’s that?

Iliana I didn’t lock the car door!

Fernando What are you doing about this mess?

Iliana I don’t know can be done! I’m just waiting for the credit card company to call me back.

Fernando What a hard lesson this is!

Iliana You can say that again!

What kind of information is

commonly stolen?

Your full name

Your date of birth

Your social insurance number

Your full address

Your mother’s maiden name

User names and passwords

Driver’s license number

Credit card information

Bank account information

Signature

One more thing!

How is stolen information used?

Access your bank accounts

Open new bank accountsTransfer account balances

Apply for loans

Make purchasesHide criminal activity

Open new passports

What can we do to

help ensure our

personal information

is not stolen?

1. Monitor our records

2. Check our credit report for

unusual activity

Photo by TrinityCreditServices http://bit.ly/1HmcUgG shared under CC BY 2.0

3. We should Investigate further

if ...

1. we receive phone calls from a collection agency about unfamiliar accounts

2. We unexpectedly get turned down for credit

How can we

prevent Identity

theft?

1. Shred all personal documents

2. Monitor financial records

3. Do not give personal

information over the phone

Photo by Kylesteed http://bit.ly/1KZtiEs shared under CC BY 2.0

4. Don’t be careless with your

personal information

4. Don’t carry too much

personal information with you

5. Keep all personal information

numbers in a safe place

Never write them on the cards!

6. When you change your

address be sure to notify all your

financial institutions

Photo by mbtrama http://bit.ly/1HbzGp8 shared under CC BY 2.0

7. Shield the ATM and swipe

your own card!

7. Know when your credit

card payments are due

Photo by frankieleon http://bit.ly/1e9RJFe shared under CC BY 2.0

Case Studies

• Read each study and discuss

a. what mistake was made (if any)?

b. What can be done now to fix the

problem?

c. What can be done to prevent identity

theft?

Case Study One:

Miguel and his family are moving to a

new house. They have many personal

financial documents which they feel

they no longer need. Miguel’s wife asks

what they should do with the

documents. Miguel suggests tearing

them up and throwing them into the

garbage.

Case Study Two:

Samantha keeps all her pin numbers in

her wallet. She has so many credit

cards she cannot remember all the

numbers.

Case Study Three:

Su Jie’s “bank” called to confirm her

address and bank account numbers.

Su Jie felt comfortable giving her

account number over the phone

because the caller seemed to already

know a lot about her. She assumed it

really was a lady from the bank.

Case Study Four:

Bob and Diane always had a good

credit rating. One day they decided to

apply for a small loan for a car. They

were surprised when they got a call

from the bank informing them that

their application was declined.

Case Study Five:

Kamaljit and Vera are very good friends.

Vera has no money with her to buy

medicine for her child. Vera asks

Kamaljit if she could borrow her Debit

card to buy the medicine. Kamaljit

lends Vera her bank card and her pin

number

Discussion

What are some things

we can do once we

know our personal

information has been

stolen?

What did you learn?

What is identity fraud and theft

What kind of information is most

commonly stolen

How to know if your personal

information may have been stolen

Ways to prevent identity theft

Thanks for Attending!

See you next time!