FBI agent provides valuable information on how to combat, prevent identity theft

An FBI special agent came to UNO last week to conduct a seminar about the ever-growing problem of identity theft, which affects millions of Americans each year.For the past seven years, identity theft has topped the Federal Trade Commission's annual list of consumer complaints. And the issue continues to grow with people's increased reliance on computers and computer-based systems.

The FBI agent, Robert J. Georgi, is a specialist in cyber crime. He estimated that 45,000 identities are stolen in the Omaha area each year.

Thieves are able to get a victim's information quite easily, Georgi said at a forum in the Milo Bail Student Center's Nebraska Room on Oct. 23. Thieves can resort to methods such as dumpster diving in order to find bank records or voided checks.

Another practice called skimming, Georgi said, involves the thief writing down the victim's credit card number or using a device to scan it.

Online, thieves can hack into computers or they can go phishing. This involves putting up a Web site that's identical to another one, such as a bank's Web site. Thieves use this identical site to trick victims into giving out personal information, such as account numbers.

Identity theft through the use of hacking and the Internet is the biggest problem, Georgi said. Students are often prime targets for this crime.

"I don't have any statistics to back it up," Georgi said, "but active computer users are the biggest targets of identity theft; and those are usually the under 30 set. Every college student has a computer."

When asked what would be the best solution to solving the problem of identity theft, Georgi said jokingly, "Ban all computers. You'd make my job so much easier."

Besides identity theft through computers, a major portion of the seminar focused on ATM theft.

Thieves insert X-ray film with slits in it into ATM slots. The film catches the victim's card, Georgi said. Then, the thief pretends to help the victim get the card back, while looking over the victim's shoulder to memorize the PIN. If victim gives up and leaves thinking the ATM ate the card, the thief pulls out the x-ray film with the stolen card and walks off with full access to the person's bank account.

Once thieves have your information, they can sell it to other thieves. A social security number would fetch about $5, Georgi said. An ATM card and PIN could earn a thief up to $100.

It's what they do with that information, Georgi said, that's the real problem.

Georgi said the three most important steps to saving yourself from identity theft is to "deter, detect and defend." He said every household should own a paper shredder to properly dispose of documents.

"You just have to be careful," Georgi said. "You always have to operate from the belief that you're not safe."

Georgi warned everyone to be cautious about phone and e-mail scams. He said we should not trust anyone who asks for personal information, money or a social security number. He frequently sees people who are victims of false sweepstakes or prizes.

Georgi gave a common example of scammers calling potential victims and telling them they've won the Canadian lottery. Thieves ask for $4,000 to cover taxes on the winnings. Thieves say that once they receive the money, they'll send the "winners" $55 million.

"I get about six of those every week on my desk here," Georgi said.

Credit card companies sometimes reimburse victims for the money they lost, Georgi said. However, even if victims are paid back, their credit scores can be severely damaged. Bad credit can impact people for decades.

UNO sophomore Alex West, who attended the seminar, said it was helpful to know exactly how thieves go about stealing.

Although Georgi provided a plethora of tips on how to prevent identity theft, West said he wouldn't change much about his daily life because of it.

"I'm pretty careful as it is," West said.

Being careful was exactly what Georgi was advising. He said to "limit the amount of information you put out there to keep you physically safer.