Reduce Your Risk of Identity Theft - Tips from Frank Abagnale

Catch Me if You Can is not one of my favorite movies despite the two points in its favor - Tom Hanks and director Steven Spielberg. I don't dislike it because I am not a Leonardo DiCaprio (who portrayed Frank Abagnale) fan. I just thought it was an entertaining, but only okay movie. However, when Frank Abagnale came to Austin, Texas as a keynote speaker at this year's Government Technology Conference I was intrigued enough to hear him speak. Although he is not a particularly eloquent speaker, his story is fascinating. It has been told in both the book and the film and as Mr. Abagnale indicated, those were accounts of his story from both the author's and the director's perspectives. In fact, he was not involved in the making of the movie and received no money from it. He wanted to tell us his story from his perspective and he did not disappoint.

If you don't know who he is, Frank Abagnale was one of the world's foremost confidence men. In the five years between his 16^th and 21^st birthdays, he successfully posed as an airline pilot, a lawyer (even passed a bar exam), a doctor, and a college professor. He cashed $2.5 million in fraudulent checks and was eventually apprehended by the French police. After serving five years in several prison systems he got an offer he couldn't refuse - work with the FBI in fraud prevention for the remainder of his sentence. He is not proud of his criminal history and does not embellish it or glamorize it while telling his story. Now, some 40 years after he began his crime spree, he is a secure document consultant for Abagnale and Associates and has helped thousands of companies and is still helping the FBI - 27 years longer than he was legally obligated to do so. He is repaying a debt - the opportunity he was given for a second chance - and he takes that very seriously. He believes that prevention is the best policy since so many who commit fraud are never brought to justice.

About thirty minutes into his talk, I had learned about his life from his perspective and then I received a bonus - information about what we can do to protect ourselves in this age of increasing identity theft and fraud. This is the bit that I want to share with you.

Abagnale says, "There's no such thing as a foolproof system. That idea fails to take into account the creativity of fools." What he did when he was a teenager is hundreds of times easier to do today. He maintains that technology breeds crime - fraud is easier with technological advances. Back in the day, to create fake checks, he had to be a professional printer with knowledge of color saturation and access to a printing press. It would be much easier today with computers, scanners, color printers, and the proper software.

Here are some of his tips:

· Buy a shredder. This is a no-brainer, but did you know that the type of shredder is important? If you use a straight shredder your documents can be put back together in about an hour. A crosscut shredder costs more, but offers much more security - it would take about eight hours to put a document back together.

· Keep your social security number safe. I went to a new dentist's office recently and they wanted my driver's license number and social security number. I left these two fields blank and no one even noticed. Just because information is requested on a form does not mean you are required to provide it. Ask why the number is needed, what will be done with it, what happens if you refuse to give it, and what law requires you to give it.

· Do not use online banking - it's not yet safe enough.

· Checks are a problem especially when you pay at a store and the clerk adds other information to your check like your phone number, birth date, driver's license number, and if you own a credit card. Too many people handle checks and can use your information.

· Don't use a debit card. Debit cards are like ATM cards, but have a Visa or MasterCard logo. The problem? They can be used as a debit card (which requires a pin number for security) or as a credit card, which allows a user to bypass the pin number altogether. If used as a credit card, there is no limit on liability as with a true credit card and someone can wipe out your bank account. Use a credit card instead - your liability is limited to $50. Concerned about increasing your debt? Just pay the card off each month.

· Monitor your credit report from all three credit bureaus. You'll be alerted early if something is amiss. Obtaining copies of your credit reports is easy. Thanks to a 2004 federal law you are entitled to one free credit report from each of the main credit reporting agencies -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- per year. You must request your free credit reports through www.annualcreditreport.com. Don't order all three at once. Instead, order a different one every 4 months and you'll get to see a free copy of your credit report three times a year instead of all three one time a year.

· Have your name removedfrom to the lists of the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service and Telephone Preference Service used by banks and other marketers. This will not only cut down on junk mail and unwanted telephone calls, it will also help protect your identity because information about you will no longer be on those lists.

· Do not carry extra credit cards or other important documents including your social security card. Only carry them when you will need them.

· Do not mail bill payments and checks from home. The checks can be stolen from your mailbox and washed clean in chemicals. Take your mail to the post office.

· Copy the contents of your wallet making sure to copy both sides of your license and credit cards. If your wallet or purse is stolen, you'll have an easier time of it.

If you want more information, check out his fifth book, Stealing Your Life. It has some truly scary case histories, a 20-step prevention plan and help if you are victimized.