Speaker helps seniors avoid identity theft
October 19, 2008
The Frederick County Department of Aging raises awareness about issues affecting the community and this month is hosting a series of hour-long meetings called Tuesday Talks.
This past week's meeting focused on identity theft and fraud, offering ways to prevent the "perfect crime," as referred to by guest speaker Fred Burton, a certified fraud examiner with 47 years of experience in security and intelligence systems.
Burton told the group that more than 30.4 million identities have been reported stolen since January, many of them involving the elderly.
"The crime is relatively easy and risk free," he said. Once a thief gains access to any form of a person's identity -- such as a social security number, birth date, address or driving records -- they can take out a loan, write checks and run up credit card bills in that person's name.
He told the audience they should invest in a shredding machine, particularly one that offers a cross-cutting feature. He also advised against putting credit card bill payments in their mailboxes, instead, take those payments to the post office.
Otherwise, "you're really just saying, 'Here I am, thief. Come get me.''
Copyright 2008 The Frederick News-Post.
Abridged
SOURCE: The Frederick News Post
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