Are your finances protected as you use everyday electronic devices: credit card readers in stores, motel room keys, WiFi at home or away? [October 03, 2015]  LINCOLN - It’s a dangerous world out there, and we all have to be on guard to protect ourselves. That is the message that Lanae Clarke from the Illinois Comptroller’s Office brought to the Lincoln Public Library Thursday afternoon in her presentation on how to protect ourselves from identity theft. “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.

The Lincoln Public Library is located at 725 Pekin St., with adult nonfiction and reference materials in the historic Carnegie Building. The Annex directly behind houses adult fiction and the Youth Services Department. All library events are free and open to the public. Online, visit www.lincolnpubliclibrary.org. Hours are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Phone [phone] for adult services and 217-732-5732 for youth services.

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.

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]