How is identity theft committed?
Skilled identity thieves use a variety of methods to gain access to your personal information. According to the FTC, many thieves:
- Get information from businesses or other institutions by stealing records from their employer, bribing an employee who has access to these records or hacking into the organization’s computers. The Office of Service Integrity, an internal investigative unit of DC DMV, is mandated to proactively seek out and combat any and all internal abuse of collected information and work privileges. The office also helps identify high risk areas in the programs and make recommendations to limit exposure. Currently the agency does not display a customer’s social security number during most phases of a transaction.
- Rummage through trash, or the trash of businesses or individuals, in a practice known as “dumpster diving.” The DC DMV secures all documents displaying an individual’s personal information and shreds any of these documents that must be discarded.
- Obtain credit reports by abusing their employer’s authorized access to credit reports or by posing as a landlord, employer or someone else who may have a legal right to the information. The DC DMV follows all of the federal guidelines mandated by the Driver Privacy Protection Act (DPPA). Authorized requestor’s of information must provide approved documentation before any information is released.
- Steal credit and debit card numbers as cards are processed, often by employees in retail establishments, by using a special information storage device in a practice known as “skimming.”
- Steal wallets and purses containing identification, social security, credit and bank cards. The DC DMV recommends individuals NOT to carry their driver license and social security card in the same place; except for cases of conducting business.
- Steal mail, including bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, new checks or tax information.
- Complete a “change of address form” at the post office to divert mail to another location.
- Steal personal information from homes.
- Scam information by posing as a legitimate business person or government official.
- Use a technique commonly known as “phishing” to assume the identity of a corporation by relocating their logo on what looks like an official e-mail communication. These fraudulent communications often ask people to confirm passwords or personnel identification, which, if provided, are used to empty bank accounts.
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