The University of Arizona

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The University of Arizona
Security Awareness Brown Bag Series
Identity Theft and Telephone Fraud

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Identity Theft
How to Protect Your Identity
Every 79 seconds a thief steals someone's
identity, opens accounts in the victim's name,
and goes shopping
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OBJECTIVES

• What is Identity Theft
• How Thieves Do It
• Preventive Actions
• Internet and On-Line Services
• Credit Reports (who to contact)
• Steps for Victims
• Reporting Identity Theft
• Consequences

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What Is Identity Theft

• Acquisition of key pieces of someones
  identifying information in order to impersonate
  them.

• Identifying Information Includes
• Name
• Address
• Date of Birth
• Social Security Number
• Mothers Maiden Name
• Credit Card Number
• ATM PINs
• Bank Account Numbers

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What Is Identity Theft

• Purpose

Take over financial accounts Open new bank accoun
ts Apply for loans Apply for credit cards Apply
for social security benefits Purchase automobile
s Rent apartments Establish services with utilit
y and phone companies Write Checks on accounts O
nline Purchases and Services
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How They Do It

• Use low and high tech methods
• Shoulder surfing at ATMs and Pay Phones
• Steal your mail
• Dumpster diving
• Corrupted postal employees (including Mail Room
  Personnel)
  
• Check washing
• Mostly in Western U.S.
• Related to Meth use (similarly used chemicals)
• Check creation software
• Credit Card Checks

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Preventive Actions

• Promptly remove mail from your mail box
• Deposit outgoing mail in post office collection
  mail boxes or at your local post office
  
• Do not leave in unsecured mail receptacles
• Never give personal information over the
  telephone unless you initiated the call

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Preventive Actions

• Shred pre-approved credit card applications,
  credit card receipts, bills and other financial
  information you dont want
  
• Empty your wallet/purse of extra credit cards and
  Ids
  
• Opt to use an alternate number on Drivers
  License
  
• Memorize your SSN and all your passwords

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Preventive Actions

• Order your credit report from the three credit
  bureaus once a year to check for discrepancies
  
• Never leave receipts at bank machines, bank
  windows, trash receptacles, or unattended
  gasoline pumps
  
• Sign all new credit cards upon receipt
• Save all credit card receipts and match them
  against your monthly bills
  
• Never loan your credit cards to anyone else

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Preventive Actions

• Be conscious of normal receipt of financial
  statements
  
• Contact sender if they are not received on time
• Notify credit card companies and financial
  institutions in advance of any change of address
  or phone number
  
• Never put account numbers on post cards or on the
  outside of an envelope
  
• Report all lost or stolen credit cards immediately

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Preventive Actions

• If you applied for a new credit card and it
  hasnt arrived in a timely manner, call the bank
  or credit card company involved
  
• Know your expiration dates
• Contact issuer if replacements are not received
  promptly
  
• Beware of mail or telephone solicitations
  disguised as promotions offering instant prizes
  or awards designed solely to obtain your personal
  information or credit card numbers

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Preventive Actions

• Never use commonly used passwords/PINs
• Dates of Birth
• Last four of SSN
• Last four of phone number
• Series of consecutive numbers
• Dont carry SSN card with you
• Do not use your SSN as your drivers license number

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Internet and On-Line Services

• Use caution when disclosing
• checking account numbers
• credit card numbers or
• other personal financial data at any web site or
  on-line service location unless you receive a
  secured authentication key from your provider.
  
• When you subscribe to an on-line service, you may
  be asked to give credit card information.
  
• beware of con artists who may ask you to
  confirm your enrollment service by disclosing
  passwords or the credit card account number you
  used to subscribe.

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Credit Reports

• Who to contact

Experian - www.experian.com (Formerly TRW) P.O.
Box 949 Allen, TX 75013-0949 Telephone 1-800-
397-3742
Equifax www.equifax.com P.O. Box 740241 Atlant
a, GA 30374-0241
Telephone [phone]
TransUnion www.tuc.com P.O. Box 1000 Chester,
PA 19022
Telephone [phone]
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Action Steps For Victims

• Contact all creditors, by phone and in writing,
  to inform them of the problem
  
• Call your nearest Postal Inspection Service
  office and your local police
  
• Contact the Federal Trade Commission to report
  the problem
  
• Call one of the three credit bureaus fraud units
  to report identity theft (they will contact other
  2 for you)
  
• Ask to have a Fraud Alert/Victim Impact
  statement placed in your credit file asking that
  creditors call you before opening any new
  accounts
• Alert your bank to flag your accounts and to
  contact you to confirm unusual activity

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Action Steps For Victims

• Request a change of PIN and new password
• Keep a log of all contacts and make copies of
  all
  
• documents
• You may also wish to contact a privacy or
  consumer advocacy group regarding illegal
  activity
  
• Contact the Social Security Administrations
  Fraud
  
• Hotline
• Contact the state office of the Department of
  Motor Vehicles to see if another license was
  issued in your
  
• name
• If so, request a new license number and fill out
  the DMVs complaint form to begin the fraud
  investigation process

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Report Identity Theft To

• Equifax Credit Bureau, Fraud
• 1-800-525-6285
• Experian Information Solutions
• 1-888-397-3742
• TransUnion Credit Bureau, Fraud
• 1-800-680-7289
• Federal Trade Commission
• 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338)
• AFOSI Det 201
• DSN 574-7371 or Commercial [phone]
• Social Security Administration, Fraud Hotline
• 1-800-269-0271

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Telephone Fraud

• Security Awareness Brown Bag Series
• Sponsored by CCIT

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Phone Fraud

• "This is Ernestine from the Phone Company. Have I
  reached the party to whom I am speaking?"

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Phone Fraud Impact

• Costs the Telecommunication industry more than 4
  billion a year costs are ultimately passed on
  to consumer.

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Telephone Fraud

• The 9-0- Phone Scam
• Call is made to an office and cons unsuspecting
  worker to transfer call to outside line
  
• Caller claims to be a telecommunication service
  technician repairing phone lines
  
• Convinces recipient of call to help by
  transferring him to an outside line AND hang up
  
• Once done, the caller starts dialing calls that
  are charged to owner of PBX

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"Compromised Private Branch Exchange (PBX) and
Telephone Voice Mail Systems

• Dated 6/3/2003 from NIPC
• Enables unauthorized communication via
• compromised US phone systems
• Cannot be traced
• Used to connect to local access numbers for
• ISPs - free Internet service via a modem
• Can redirect repeated calls to a specific number,
  such as 911, and cause denial-of-service (DoS)
  activity.
  

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Telephone Fraud Detection

• Toll Fraud warning signs
• Long holding times
• Unexplained surges in use
• Increase in calls after business hours
• Reports of odd calls
• Complaints that system is always busy

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Telephone Fraud Protection

• Memorize calling card number.
• Prevent shoulder surfing - Be aware of people
  loitering around phones. Stand directly in front
  of phone when entering number.
  
• Dont give your Calling Card numbers to others
• Guard your Calling Card number as you would a
  credit card number
  
• Report lost or stolen cards immediately
• Dont accept third-party calls from those you
  dont know

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Prevention

• Primarily targets businesses and universities
• Technician would never ask customer to help
• check phone lines
• Best defense is to be aware of this scam and
• review what to do if it happens
• Ask technician for call-back number or for name
  and number of supervisor. Then
  
• hang up
• Report call

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809 Area Code Scam

• The 809 scam involve a message (phone,
• email, pager)
• Request you immediately call or fax an
• 809 area code number
• Examples of reason to call include
• avoiding litigation
• receiving info about someone who has died or
  been arrested
  
• winning a prize
• getting a job
• even death in family

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Prevention 809 Area Code Scam

• 809 area code is in the Caribbean. No
• international code is required
• Some numbers in 809 areas code are pay-per
• call numbers
• Scamsters try and keep you on phone as long as
• possible
• Not just limited to 809 (284, 876)
• ATTs Webpage on phone fraud and scams
• http//www.att.com/fraud/home.htmlb

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Wireless Telephone Fraud Prevention Tips

• Lock phones, remove handsets and wireless antenna
  when vehicle left with someone
  
• Protect sensitive documents (subscriber agreement
  containing electronic serial numbers)
  
• Immediately report lost or stolen wireless phone
  carrier
  
• Dont leave phone in unattended car or in
  isolated area for extended period of time

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The key to security awareness is embedded in the
word security.
SEC- -Y
If not you, who? If not now, when?
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Resources at the University of Arizona

• Kerio Firewall
• https//sitelicense.arizona.edu/kerio/kerio.shtml
  
• Sophos Anti Virus
• https//sitelicense.arizona.edu/sophos/sophos.html
  
  
• VPN client software
• https//sitelicense.arizona.edu/vpn/vpn.shtml
• Policies, Procedures and Guidelines
• http//security.arizona.edu/guidelinesetc.html
• Security Awareness http//security.arizona.edu/awa
  reness.html

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• University Information Security Office
• Bob Lancaster
• University Information Security Officer
• Co-Director CCIT, Telecommunications
• Lancaster_at_arizona.edu
• 621-4482
• Security Incident Response Team (SIRT)
• sirt_at_arizona.edu
• 626-0100
• Kelley Bogart
• Information Security Office Coordinator
• Bogartk_at_u.arizona.edu
• 626-8232