Sgt. Chris Pittaluga

Kenton County Police

Bureau of Investigations

PROTECTING

YOURSELF:Everyday, Online, and Job Hunting

ISSUES

Identity Theft Scams and Protection

• Protection from what?

• Warning signs of identity theft

• Scams

• How you can reduce your risk and what to do if victimized

WHAT IS IDENTITY THEFT?

Identity theft:

• Someone steals your identifying information and uses it for personal gain

• Nearly everybody will be a victim of a form of identity theft

• Can damage your finances, credit history and reputation

WARNING SIGNS

How do you know if your identity was stolen?

• Mistakes on accounts or your Explanation of Medical benefits

• Unexpected bills

• Calls from debt collectors for debts that you never made

• Notice from the IRS (Not by phone)

• CREDIT REPORTS!!! By law you get a free one each year from each but you have to request it. Equifax, Experian, and Transunion.

HOW DOES IDENTITY THEFT HAPPEN?

Identity thieves will:

• Can get your info from the trash, mail, theft of wallet or purse (Old School)

• Data breaches, hacks, malware, social media, employees (Modern)

• WIFI Connections

• Phishing and Pharming!

• Fake Job Applications!

SCAMS YOU KNOW…MAYBE,

Car warranty

IRS calls

Arrested family members

Warrant for your arrest

Microsoft Windows calls

Publisher Clearing House Winner

Nothing legitimate needs payment with gift cards or bitcoin, always a scam, every

time, always, do not do it!!!

SOCIAL MEDIA

Have you posted all your cars through life? Pets? Your family tree with maiden

names?

Ever forwarded the “Kohls is giving a gift card to everyone who shares post?”

Had your account cloned? (Often mistakenly referred to as hacked)

Messaged by your friends “cloned” account?

WIFI

Best Idea is simply do not use open WIFI or WIFI Hotspots

Did the business create that hotspot or did the guy sitting at the table across from

you?

It is extremely easy to track all data between your device and the router.

This can provide websites, accounts, passwords, pictures, or whatever else

communicates across the wifi

Be wary of password connected wifi, who has the password? Once inside the wifi it is

no different then an open wifi for a crook.

WHICH IS REAL?

PHISHING

JOB HUNTING? YOU ARE AN EASIER TARGET!

You are out willingly sharing all your information hoping to find a new job. You expect the other person to ask about you. Who is really on the other end?

Scammers are on job sites, they need work too!

• Do not share more then you need up front.

• Is there a legitimate reason for the info they are asking for?

• Does the information they provide or how they conduct themselves match the job you are applying for?

KEEP IN MIND WHEN ONLINE

FREE ANTIVIRUS

SCAMS

Examples: Send you a check to cover costs.

• A work from home job so they send you a check to make purchases.

• Then need you to make some payment to the company.

• Find out the check was not valid.

• This is done in a variety of flavors but fundamentally the same scam.

SCAMS

• Ask you to complete more paperwork requesting personal information

• Ask for bank account info or credit card account info

• Follow up if you get account statements you don’t expect.

SCAMS

Nigerian Prince Scam evolved to the work place

• Job scams that are not after your info often have future promises for a current

issue: Future locations, future money, future reimbursement but we need you to

send money, pay for, cover cost, etc. now.

• Send us a check so we can mail you your home office equipment and we will

reimburse you once we get the Cincinnati field office up and running.

• Need you to pay for these processing fees, membership costs, and application

fees. Will reimburse once we verify your credentials.

• Does it make sense?

SCAMS

Middle man scam

- We will send you a check, mail these payments out, keep the difference for your

pay.

- Receive this package/payment and forward/wire to this location. The package

was purchased with stolen info or the payment was received as a scam and now

the police track it back to you.

- If involving money usually involves cash somewhere. This severs the link if law

enforcement is trying to follow the money.

REDUCE THE RISK

Somethings you can do to prevent Job Scams

• If something doesn’t feel right it probably isn’t right

• Be wary of “I saw your resume and your just the person, short listed, top of my

list, etc” notifications.

• Do not blindly trust provided contact info

• They might say they are from a legitimate company but are not actually affiliated

with that company.

• Look the company up independent of links, emails, or messages and make contact

• Do not blindly share info with somebody just because they contact you with a great

job

REDUCE THE RISK

Some general identity theft good ideas

• Keep your important papers secure.

• Use strong passwords.

• Be careful with your mail.

• Be suspect of cold calls or emails.

• Be suspect of anything asking for money or accounts.

• Don’t overshare on social networking sites.

• Shred sensitive documents.

REALITY

Some truths about identity theft

• You will likely be a victim in some form regardless of what steps you take. Most

common is getting your credit card number stolen. The worse kind is a full

identity take over, especially if it lasts for a long time.

• The elderly tend to fall victim to the scams at a much higher rate.

• Please have a conversation with your parents, grand-parents, aunts, uncles and

whoever else in your life to help protect them from falling victim.

WHAT TO DO IF SOMEONE HAS

STOLEN YOUR IDENTITY?

• Act fast to limit the damage.

• Take these steps immediately.

IF YOUR IDENTITY IS STOLEN…

Place an initial fraud alert on your credit report.

• Contact any one of the three nationwide credit reporting companies.

• Equifax 1-800-525-6285

• Experian 1-888-397-3742

• TransUnion 1-800-680-7289

– Tip: If it was just the fraudulent use of a credit card or bank card just notify the card

provider. They will handle just about everything else for you. While this is

technically identity theft it is handled differently.

IF YOUR IDENTITY IS STOLEN…

Go to identitytheft.gov

• This site is ran by the Federal Trade Commission and will explain what to do and how to

recover from the theft of your identity.

We also have their identity theft packets at the Kenton

County Police Department.

• File a police report. In Kentucky you can file where the theft occurred or where you

reside. So if your identity is being used in California, Kentucky can carry the report for you.

IF YOUR IDENTITY IS STOLEN…

Order a credit report.

• Contact the three credit reporting companies.

• ID theft victims get a copy of their reports for free.

• Read your reports carefully and correct any errors with the credit bureau.

• Tip: If you get your free annual report, stagger them so you get one every four

months. Helps identify issues more timely.

Your Federal Trade Commission Affidavit and police report make an Identity Theft Report.

KENTON COUNTY POLICE

SGT. CHRIS PITTALUGA

11777 MADISON PIKE

INDEPENDENCE, KY 41051

859-392-1964

Chris.pittaluga@kentoncounty.org