How to fight identity theft like a pro

How to fight identity theft like a pro

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SALT LAKE CITY — I'm an identity management professional for a large, global organization. I am also a victim of identity theft.

I know, the irony is laughable. But the worst mistake you can make is to assume your identity will never be stolen. That's a huge mistake.

In fact, 16.7 million U.S. consumers had $16.8 billion stolen from them in 2017 due to identity fraud, according to IBM and SecurityIntelligence. And the number of hijacked accounts tripled from the previous year.

If you Google "identity theft" and read some of the news stories, you might not sleep at night.

My story? More than 15 credit card applications were submitted with my name and Social Security number and several were approved. Two of my personal credit cards were compromised with fraudulent charges. Several falsified mailing addresses were added to my credit profile. An imposter’s email address was added to my primary bank account, and a thief established a direct connection with one of my savings accounts and was one business day away from being able to empty it all.

So how do you fight back? How did I, as an identity professional, fight back? How did I not just survive the attack but also prevent financial loss and damage to my exceptional credit score?

Let me introduce you to Identity Theft 101 — because, as with most things in life, it’s the simple things that matter most.

Here are three basic principles you need to embrace to fight back like an identity pro. And, yes, if they sound familiar, it's because the same steps that help people with addiction recovery can put you in the driver’s seat when, not if, your identity is stolen:

1. Admit that you are powerless against identity theft.

Statistics don’t lie. You can’t assume the government, your employers or anyone else with your personal data will be able to stop every hacker and counter every attack. If a company, organization or other entity has your personal data, you can be a victim of identity theft by no misstep of your own.

2. Believe that a higher power can help you.

In the identity world, I define a higher power as technology that enables you to defend yourself and fight back. Here is a list of things I did before my identity was stolen that saved me when bad actors attempted to use my information for nefarious purposes:

  • Enable two-step verification for all your bank accounts, email accounts and social media accounts.
  • Enable text or push alerts for all your bank accounts (deposits, withdrawals, balance limits, etc.)
  • Enable text alerts for credit card transactions greater than $1.
  • Set up a verbal passcode at each bank you use (including your work’s 401(k) and/or pension fund).
  • Use credit cards instead of bank accounts to pay bills.
  • Use Venmo or other electronic payment systems or credit cards instead of personal checks.
  • Set up Venmo or PayPal-type apps with a secondary savings account with limited funds.
  • Create unique usernames and passwords for each bank account.
  • Request an identity protection PIN from the IRS to protect your tax submission/refund.
  • Set up fraud alerts every six months with credit bureaus.

3. Take a personal inventory.

Taking a personal inventory means making sure you are doing everything in Step Two and that you are reviewing your credit report at least once a year. You can request a free credit report from all three credit bureaus (Equifax Credit, Experian and TransUnion) each year at annualcreditreport.com.

Print each report and highlight all activity you do not recognize. If your identity has been stolen or you think there is fraudulent activity on your credit report, take the following actions:

  • Report each unknown account to the fraud department of the associated bank.
  • Dispute fraudulent accounts and personal information with each credit bureau.
  • Contact local police and open an identity theft case.
  • Report the identity theft and police case number to the credit bureau to receive seven years of continuous fraud alerts for free.
  • Freeze your credit with each of the credit bureaus if you do not need to apply for credit.
  • Report identity theft to the federal government.
  • Notify the Postal Inspection Service if mail theft is involved.
  • Call the Social Security fraud hotline to report fraudulent use at 800-269-0271.
  • Contact the Department of Motor Vehicles if someone is trying to establish an identity with your information.
  • Report fraudulent activity on credit cards and request new cards.
  • Stop payment on stolen checks and change your bank account number.

You’ll notice I did not recommend paying for identity protection services. I believe the free tools available are good enough to protect myself against the vast majority of identity attacks.

I can’t prevent an attack, but I can make the experience so difficult that the criminal will give up and go after easier prey — and that’s exactly what happened.

Alerts from my bank allowed me to immediately notify the company about the attack and to shut it down. Because I had verbal passcodes set up when an attacker tried to impersonate me, they got caught in the act because a bank fraud agent called me to verify my identity while they had the criminal on another line claiming to be me.

Speed is critical in stopping an attack. The sooner you know you are being victimized, the faster you can act to stop the perpetrator — which is why setting up alerts on all your accounts is so crucial.

Remember, always assume your personal information has already been compromised, so when an attack does happen, you are prepared to fight back like a pro.


Ben Hutchins is an identity management professional and has degrees from Brigham Young University and Syracuse University. You can contact him at benhutchins2@gmail.com.

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