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 “Unfortunately, the bad people tend to target folks in the senior
community when they steal information that gives them access to
financial material. But we all have to be on guard, young and old
alike, to make sure our personal information is secure,” Clarke
said.
As she travels throughout Illinois distributing information on how
to protect against identity theft, Lanae Clarke has been able to
gather the personal stories of Illinoisans who have been the target
of criminals whose intent is to steal money from poorly protected
accounts and hoodwink caring people into giving personal information
to help out after a disaster. She carries this information with her
and can unpack it at each new location to inform her audience about
aspects of identity theft that may be new to them.
Clarke's goal is to help people protect the resources that they have
built up through a lifetime of hard work from criminals. She says,
“And don’t be embarrassed if this has happened to you or call
yourself stupid. Identity theft has happened to some very smart
people and even the United States government.
 Be assured that there are law enforcement members who are ready to
help you. It is important that a person always file a police report
if they suspect a criminal has tried to hack their computer or use
the phone to attempt to steal money from you,” she said. She added
that it is important to also notify your financial institution and
credit card companies if a suspected hack has occurred.
Clarke began her journey through the criminal world of hacking by
warning her audience that use of the internet requires very careful
planning. All passwords should be complex, never use a simple
sequence of numbers or letters. Passwords should vary with each
account on the internet. If a person has multiple accounts, the
passwords can be written down, but that record should never leave
the safety of one’s house, should always be kept in a secure
location.
When using the internet to purchase items or do online banking or
bill paying, make sure the site being accessed is secure. The
internet address should always begin with HTTPS, the S indicating
that the site is secure. A lock icon should always accompany the
address also.
“Be very careful about using guest WiFi for any purchase or
banking,” Clarke cautioned. She is referring to free WiFi at
commercial locations such as fast food restaurants or coffee bars.
These sites are generally not password protected and can be hacked
by criminals lurking nearby ready to steal into the computer or
smart phone of an unsuspecting person using this service.
Many internet sites want to do you a favor when you purchase
something from them. After a purchase, the site will ask if you want
to save your information to make your next purchase quicker. This is
no favor. That information is sitting on a server just waiting to be
hacked. Never allow a site from which you have purchased an item to
save your information.
 Most people have wireless internet in the house. Make certain the
system is password protected so that car sitting at the curb in
front of your house is not poaching your internet service and
personal information.
Smart phones are everywhere these days. One option on the phones is
to automatically connect to the closest WiFi service. Clarke
stressed that this function should be turned off just to reduce the
chance of a crook taping into a guest WiFi.
People love to be in touch with friends and family via smart phones
and social networking. “Just remember that unless you make your Face
Book account private, everyone in the world can read your posts,
even the ones that say you are on vacation and having a wonderful
time far from home,” she said.
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Clarke related the story of a family from Bloomington who was posting to Face
Book on vacation. Thieves were monitoring accounts in the community and quickly
broke into their home and stole everything. This was a gang in
Bloomington-Normal that had been doing this for some time. They were eventually
brought to justice, but others are doing the same thing.
Credit card information was the next topic of Clark’s discussion. New credit
cards are being issued with chips to protect the card holder from identity
theft. She pointed out that the new cards will start to be issued in October,
but it will take years to get one to each person. It will also take a new credit
card reader at commercial locations to read the new cards, so don’t depend on
new technology to protect your credit cards.
Credit card thieves also have the technology to steal your credit card number by
placing a tiny transmitter on a card reader that will send your information to a
data collector in a car down the block. Always make sure that there is not
something loose on the swipe groove at the grocery store or ATM or gas station.
That may be the illegal transmitter.
Always make sure when using an ATM that the camera in the kiosk is uncovered and
that the interior is well lighted.
Lanae Clark related a story about a person gaining access to a doctor’s office
and stealing Medicare card numbers. She recommends that a person never carry a
Medicare or Social Security card with them. “Take a photo copy of both sides of
the card, use a black magic marker to delete all but the last four numbers of
the card, and leave your actual cards at home. If someone asks for your card
give them your redacted copy,” she said. They may object but they really do not
need the entire number.
Clarke ended her discussion of identity theft with something that really brought
the audience to attention. When checking into a hotel, a person is given a swipe
card to open the door to the room. “When checking out, I always take this card
with me and destroy it when I get home. Why? Because that card contains all of
your info including your credit card number. I know the hotels are supposed to
wipe the cards but what if it doesn’t happen. It may not be likely, but we all
have to be proactive when protecting ourselves,” she said.
Clarke recommends accessing the Federal Trade Commission website to see what the
latest scams are to separate a person from their hard earned savings. It is also
a good idea to access your information on the credit reporting sites Experian,
Transunion, and Equifax to see if someone has been doing no good with your
personal information.
It is also a good idea to check with your homeowners insurance to insure that
identity theft coverage is covered in your premium. Most insurance companies do
this now, so check for sure.
Lanae Clarke left some informative brochures at the Lincoln Public Library on
identity theft protection. They are free. More copies are available from the
State of Illinois Comptroller. Remember, the more information a person has, the
more tools you have to protect yourself from the very bad people out there
intent on scamming you.
[Curt Fox]
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