NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article, December 2012
ID Theft & Fraud
http://www.StaySafeOnline.org

If you're the victim of cybercrime, you need to know what to do and respond quickly.

When dealing with cybercrime, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure. Cybercrime can, at best, wreak havoc in victims’ lives through major inconvenience and annoyance. At worst, cybercrime can lead to financial ruin and potentially threaten a victim’s reputation, personal safety, and even his or her life.

Who To Contact:
* Local law enforcement: Even if you have been the target of a multijurisdictional cybercrime, your local law enforcement agency (either police or sheriff’s department) has an obligation to assist you, take a formal report, and make referrals to other agencies, when appropriate. Report your situation as soon as you find out about it. Some local agencies have detectives or departments that focus specifically on cybercrime.

* The Internet Crime Complaint Center: The IC3 will thoroughly review and evaluate your complaint and refer it to the appropriate federal, state, local, or international law enforcement or regulatory agency that has jurisdiction over the matter. IC3 is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center (funded, in part, by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance). Complaints may be filed online at http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx.
* The Federal Trade Commission: The FTC does not resolve individual consumer complaints, but does operate the Consumer Sentinel, a secure online database that is used by civil and criminal law enforcement authorities worldwide to detect patterns of wrong-doing, leading to investigations and prosecutions. File your complaint at: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en.

Collect and Keep Evidence
Even though you may not be asked to provide evidence when you first report the cybercrime, it is very important to keep any evidence you may have related to your complaint. Keep items in a safe location in the event you are requested to provide them for investigative or prosecutive evidence. Evidence may include, but is not limited to, the following:
* Canceled checks
* Certified or other mail receipts
* Chatroom or newsgroup text
* Credit card receipts
* Envelopes (if you received items via FedEx, UPS, or U.S. Mail)
* Facsimiles
* Messages from Facebook, Twitter or other social networking sites
* Money order receipts
* Pamphlets or brochures
* Phone bills
* Printed or preferably electronic copies of emails (if printed, include full email header information)
* Printed or preferably electronic copies of web pages
* Wire receipts

In Cases of Identity Theft:
* Make sure you change your passwords for all online accounts. When changing your password, make it long and strong, with a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. You also may need to contact your bank and other financial institutions to freeze your accounts so that the offender is not able to access your financial resources.

* Close any unauthorized or compromised credit or charge accounts. Cancel each credit and charge card. Get new cards with new account numbers. * File a report with your local law enforcement agency. Even if your local police or sheriff’s department doesn’t have jurisdiction over the crime (a common occurrence for online crime which may originate in another jurisdiction or even another country), you will need to provide a copy of the police report to your banks, creditors, other businesses, credit bureaus, and debt collectors.
* If your personal information has been stolen through a corporate data breach (when a cyber thief hacks into a large database of accounts to steal information, such as Social Security numbers, home addresses, and personal email addresses), you will likely be contacted by the business or agency whose data was compromised with additional instructions, as appropriate. You may also contact the organization’s IT security officer for more information.
* If stolen money or identity is involved, contact one of the three credit bureaus to report the crime. Request that the credit bureau place a fraud alert on your credit report to prevent any further fraudulent activity (such as opening an account with your identification) from occurring. As soon as one of the bureaus issues a fraud alert, the other two bureaus are automatically notified. ?Equifax or call 1-800-525-6285
o Experian or call 1-888-397-3742
o TransUnion or call 1-800-680-7289

* Contact the Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4388) and visit the Identity Theft section of the FTC website.

In Cases of Social Security Fraud
If you believe someone is using your social security number for employment purposes or to fraudulently receive Social Security benefits, you should:
* Contact the Social Security Administration’s fraud hotline at 1-800-269-0271 or report the issue online. * Request a copy of your social security statement to verify its accuracy.

Ways to Prevent Cybercrime
Many cybercrimes start with malware. Criminals use malware to steal personal information and commit fraud.

Avoid malware with these STOP. THINK. CONNECT. Tips:
* Keep a clean machine: Having the latest security software, web browser, and operating system are the best defenses against viruses, malware, and other online threats.
* Automate software updates: Many software programs will automatically connect and update to defend against known risks. Turn on automatic updates if that’s an available option.
* Protect all devices that connect to the Internet: Along with computers, smart phones, gaming systems, and other web-enabled devices also need protection from viruses and malware.
* Plug & scan: “USBs” and other external devices can be infected by viruses and malware. Use your security software to scan them.
* Protect your $$: When banking and shopping, check to be sure the sites is security enabled. Look for web addresses with “https://” or “shttp://”, which means the site takes extra measures to help secure your information. “Http://” is not secure.
* Back it up: Protect your valuable work, music, photos, and other digital information by making an electronic copy and storing it safely.

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