IDENTITY THEFT MORE THAN MONETARY
     Troy Segler, Scribe

At both SNUG and the general meeting on Thursday, we had a very thorough presentation on the types of Identity Theft that each of us should be aware of and also some of the consequences that people have endured. David Bebout and Steve Bratcher, representing Pre-Paid Legal Services made the presentation on Thursday morning.

Steve identified several types of identify theft that can create havoc in our everyday lives until they are resolved. Some of the problems of which we should become aware are:

     (1) Use of a stolen drivers license. Someone using your license can run up tickets or have an accident and cause a subpoena to be issued against you. Possible arrest can result.

     (2) Social Security Identity Theft – They cited a case where a woman was applying for work with Target and was informed she was already on their payroll. Subsequent investigation revealed there were 39 persons on someone’s payroll using her identity. The IRS will look for the proper owner of the SS# to pay appropriate income taxes on all amounts earned against that number.

     (3) Medical Identity Theft – Can you imagine a person using your Medicare number to have surgery. That has happened and the person needing her gall bladder removed was informed by medical people that records indicated it had already been removed. There are some instances where a problem of this nature might delay urgent surgery as a result of identity theft.

     (4) Character or Criminal identity theft.

The criminal can create problems for you in checking in at an airport or being detained when stopped for a traffic ticket. Steve cited one case where an individual was arrested on a warrant and transferred to Georgia from Pauls Valley where it was learned the person they were looking for was of a different ethnic background. A bus ticket and $50 got him back to Pauls Valley after an un-wanted visit to Georgia.

We were cautioned that getting a credit check report frequently is highly desirable. Clear items up before they become a problem. Automobile insurance claims are generally reported to C.l.U.E. © Underwriters Lab. If others have an accident using your identification it might cause problems for you when renewing your insurance. Be Aware.

Statistically, the average amount charged to a stolen credit card before detection is $92,893. The average number of checks written using your bank account is 74.6. And, there are typically 8.4 credit cards assigned in someone’s name when they loose a card number due to theft. The typical time to recover the clear record you deserve is 600 hours.

I felt terror about to occur after hearing their message about identity theft. How about you?

As usual, we had a drawing for door prizes after the general meeting. Visitors John Lunday received a box of 10 CD RW discs and Carol Bennett received a free membership. Members T. J. Stuckey was winner of a 1Gbit memory stick and Don Taylor carried home a shredder. This was an appropriate gift for someone attending a meeting about identity theft.

Here’s hoping you have a good and safe month, and plan to visit with us at the next general meeting on November 16th.
See you next time. Troy Segler

Winners:

Carol Bennett	T. J. Stuckey	John Lunday	Dan Taylor