Christy Hardwick Tells Rotary about Identity Theft Protection

Posted by Edward "Ted" Gilliland

Christy Hardwick has been a Fraud Investigation Specialist with the Greeley Police Department since 1999. There are many ways that crooks try to make their own Christmas merrier at your expense. She warned us to be careful when shopping online. If you click on a link to order something, be sure that the site it takes you to belongs to the company your are working with by comparing the URL address. Also look for the padlock symbol or https when going to pay. The 's"at the end of http_ stands for secure site. Your data will be encrypted as it travels through cyberspace to get to your supplier which makes it safer.

Sometimes crooks send a notice that they have a package they need to deliver, but need more information before they can do it. These criminals are just "phishing" for more personal information so they can steal your identity later. Beware of free travel offers. Such offers provide criminals an opportunity to get your personal identification. Be sure to travel with only reputable sources. E-card invitations are very popular but can be dangerous. If you are sent an e-card be very cautious of opening it even if you do know the sender. Before opening the e-card, email your friend and ask if they sent it to you and iff they did not then delete the message immediately and empty the trash on your computer. Viruses attached to the e-card may have a timer and self open in your trash at a later date and invade your computer and get information that is private. Install anti-virus protection on your phone as well as your regular computer. McAfee and Norton have good anti-virus programs.

Christy also encouraged us to be on the look out for sound alike names of charities for year end giving. Names like the International Rotary Foundation instead of the Rotary International Foundation etc. are strategies used to mislead charitable donors.

Christy also gave our group some tips regarding passwords. Short passwords as well as pet names, children's names and birthdays are common and easy for thieves to guess. The longer the password the harder for thieves to decode and copy. The use upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols are all strategies to make your password safer. A good example would be: My!passWoRd-32". She encouraged us not to use passwords when we are on public free wifi and internet. At restaurants and Starbucks, if you use your password, thieves may be hanging around just waiting to snatch it. There is even a thing called a War Driver who can drive by your house and get on your unsecured wifi and get in to your computer and copy your keystrokes to see what your passwords are. She advised us all to password protect our personal wifi even in our houses.

Medical identity theft is also a booming business. Someone accesses your Social Security number, address, mother's maiden name etc. through a variety of calls or contest entries or your Facebook page, and then they use your health insurance to get procedures done for themselves at your expense. The Hippa privacy laws protect our medical information, but once they steal it, it also protects the crook from being caught. You are the only one who can check your medical records to confirm that they only contain information regarding your health. A criminal's bad health information could haunt you.

While this presentation was scary to think about, it was also empowering. If you would like more information about the subject, you can contact Christy at the Greeley police station. Thanks for your good advice, Christy and for all the good work you do putting bad guys away through your investigations.