is identity theft?
Identity Theft occurs when someone uses your personally
identifying information like your name, Social Security number,
or credit card number without your permission to commit fraud
or other crimes. According to the Federal Trade Commission,
approximately 9 million Americans have their identity stolen
each year. Identity thieves may use your personally identifying
information to establish lines of credit, bank accounts, credit
card accounts and other forms of credit. You may not find out
your identity has been compromised until you receive a bill in
the mail or are contacted by a debt collector.
Is identity theft
Identity Theft is a Crime in the State of New Jersey.
In New Jersey, Identity Theft is covered by the Wrongful
Impersonation statute (N.J.S.A. 2C:21-17), which makes it an
offense to impersonate another, assume a false identity, or
obtain personally identifying information pertaining to another
person and use that information or assist another in using that
information to obtain a benefit, services or attempt to avoid a
debt or avoid prosecution for a crime by using the name of the
other person. New Jersey’s Wrongful Impersonation ranges
from a Disorderly Person’s offense to a crime of the 2nd degree
in cases where five or more identities have been used to obtain
a benefit or service in the amount of $75,000 or more or the
identities if five or more people have been used to obtain a
How does identity
Your personally identifying information may be compromised
through a variety of methods.
Dumpster Diving - Looking through your garbage for bills
or other paper with your personal information on it.
Skimming - Skimmers are small electronic devices that
can be easily concealed in a pocket and when your
credit card is swiped through it, the device reads all of
the information encoded on the magnetic strip on your
Phishing - Phishing scams are electronic mails sent from
what appears to be a legitimate financial institution. They
are devised to trick you into sending them account and
password information. A common scam would be an
email advising you that due to a security issue your bank
would like you to confirm or reset your password.
Address Change - Your bills are diverted to another
address where they are read or your mail is stolen from
your mail box.
Theft - Your personally identifiable information is
acquired through the theft of a wallet, purse, home
burglary or car burglary.
Pretexting - Your are called or receive a text message
from what appears and sounds like a legitimate financial
institution in an attempt to trick you into revealing
personally identifiable information.
Additional information can be found at:
Order a copy of your credit report every year from all three
of the major credit reporting agencies in order to check for
any fraudulent activity or discrepancies. In the State of New
Jersey you are entitled to one free credit report every year
from each of the credit reporting agencies.
Protect your mail by removing it from your mailbox as soon
as possible, and consider utilizing a locked mailbox.
Shred any discarded paperwork that contains personal
identifiers or financial information including pre-approved
credit card and loan applications. If a vendor manually
processes your credit card, ask for and destroy any carbon
Stop pre-approved credit offers by calling the Credit
Reporting Industry at 888-567-8688.
Know where your personal information is kept and ensure
it is secure. Protect your wallet and purse and do not leave
them unattended. There have been several cases where
thieves access wallets and remove one credit card, but leave
the rest of the contents undisturbed. Keep an eye on your
credit card when using it to pay purchases.
Be aware of your surroundings when using ATM cards,
making credit card purchases, and when using pin numbers
and passwords. Several cases have been uncovered where
skimmers are placed into ATM’s capturing ATM data.
For computer use, make sure you install and keep updated
anti-virus software as well as a software firewall to discourage
hackers. Be aware that personal
information you send over the internet
could be viewed by others. Secure your
wireless network, and look for the
“https:” at the beginning of any
web address when you are
transactions over the internet.
Carefully review your bills, bank statements, credit card
statements and other financial accounts to ensure that your
balances and debits match your records.
When disposing of digital devices such as phones,
computers, and ipads, make sure your data has been wiped
off of it — this includes modern copiers which may have an
internal hard drive. If in doubt, destroy the devices.
The modern online scams are just updated versions of old
con games — DO NOT give out personal information in
response to unsolicited offers made in person, on the phone,
or over the internet. Banks and other legitimate financial
businesses will not ask for your password or personally
identifying information when they call you.
DO NOT fill out personal information on warranty cards and
sweepstakes entries; it is often sold to others as a marketing
DO NOT provide your social security number unless you have
What do I do if
I become a victim?
Contact your local police department and file a report
and obtain a case number. Most credit and financial
institutions will require that you file a police report. Police
departments in New Jersey are required to take a report
when you reasonably believe or suspect you are a victim of
identity theft notwithstanding the fact that jurisdiction for
prosecution or investigation may lie elsewhere. (N.J.S.A.
Immediately call the fraud units of the three credit reporting
companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Report
the theft of your credit cards or identity to them. Request
that your account be flagged and have a Fraud Alert/Victim
Impact statement placed in your credit file asking that
creditors call before granting credit. Obtain the names and
phone numbers of businesses where fraudulent accounts
have been opened, if any.
P.O. Box 105873
P.O. Box 949
P.O. Box 390
Atlanta, GA. 30348
Allen, TX. 75013
Springfield, PA. 19064
- Contact your creditors and those businesses who provided
credit in your name fraudulently by phone and in writing
to inform them of the problem. Ask for replacement
cards, close out old and fraudulent accounts, and obtain
new account numbers and create new pin numbers if the
account(s) have been used fraudulently.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC):
Contact the FTC and file a report either through the FTC
website at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or by telephone
at 877-ID-THEFT (877-438-4338). The Federal Trade
Commission serves as a clearinghouse for complaints by the
victims of identity theft. The FTC assists victims by providing
information to help resolve financial and other problems that
can result from identity theft.
Obtain an “Identity Crimes Affidavit” from the FTC website
and complete. It will be useful when notifying police,
merchants, financial institutions, and credit bureaus.
Assisting Law Enforcement:
Set up a folder to keep a detailed history of the crime. Keep
a log of all contacts and make copies of all documentation.
Provide this information to the police and assist them
in obtaining any additional information which may be
Gather all evidence and documentation of your financial loss
and provide it to the police.
Obtain possible witness information — your salesperson,
apartment managers, employers and any other person or
institution who accepted the fraudulent application(s) or
document(s). Provide this information to the police.
Complete the Federal Trade Commission’s “Identity Crimes
Affidavit” and provide it to the police.
If you have had checks stolen or accounts set up fraudulently
and you believe checks have been created for the fraudulent
account, report it to the financial institution and close the
accounts. Create new accounts and place stop payments on the
outstanding fraudulent checks. You should also report the stolen
checks to the check verification companies.
National Check Fraud Service
1-800-710-9898 or 927-0188
Equifax Check Systems
- If your ATM card is lost or stolen, contact the issuing financial
institution, acquire a new card, account number and create a
new PIN number.
Fraudulent Change of Address:
- Notify the local US Postal Inspector if you suspect someone has
fraudulently changed your address. Meet with your Postmaster
to identify the new address and attempt to recover your
fraudulently diverted mail. Contact information for US Postal
Inspectors can be found at: www.usps.gov/postalinspectors.
Social Security Number:
- If your social security number has been used fraudulently,
contact the Social Security Administration at 1-800-269-0271 or
through their website at www.ssa.gov/org.
Drivers License Fraud:
- If you suspect your driver’s license or registration was lost, stolen
or fraudulently used, contact the State of
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission
at 1-866-TIPS-MVC (1-866-847-7682).