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CNN Live Saturday

Interview With Identity Theft Expert Linda Foley

Aired January 26, 2002 - 17:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: While identity theft may seem like a subject of a far-fetched movie, it has actually become a harsh reality to many across the country. Just this week, the Federal Trade Commission listed identity theft as the leading consumer fraud complaint last year. The hijacking of someone's credit card or Social Security numbers is one of fastest growing crimes in the United States. Some privacy advocates say as many 750,000 people a year may be affected.

For some advice on how to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft, we turn to an expert on that matter. Linda Foley joins us now from San Diego. Hi there, Linda.

LINDA FOLEY, IDENTITY THEFT EXPERT: Hi, how are you.

WHITFIELD: Well, on the surface it seems far-fetched, but I know from personal experience it can happen. It happened to me once, someone stole some information, opened up credit card accounts, even went as far as having power at my home turned off only to be turned on somewhere else. In my case, it turned out that someone stole that information from my mailbox. Is that typically how it happens?

FOLEY: It's one of the ways it can happen. Identity theft is a crime of opportunity. When you give opportunity to the criminals, they take advantage of it, and an unlocked mailbox is one of the areas that we are concerned about.

WHITFIELD: In my case, I ended up getting a locked mailbox. So I learned the hard way. But you know, I also found from personal experience that it's so hard to try and recover from something like that, an invasion indeed. What do you best advise if it turns out that someone, you know, gotten wind of the fact that their personal information is being misused out there, what's the first thing you need to do?

FOLEY: The first thing you need to do is call the police. File a police report, because that is going to help you eventually clear your records when you're contacting all the credit card issuers. You can call the Federal Trade Commission. Their number is 877-IDTHEFT. They have a wonderful brochure they will send out. They are also collecting statistical information that we're using to help legislation get passed.

The third thing you want to do is call the credit reporting agencies, all three of them, Experion, Aquapac and TransUnion. Find out what's going on. Put a fraud alert on your credit reports. What that does is say do not issue credit without my permission. And then, you are going to give your home number.

It is an advisory, but the better credit issuers do take note of that, and will call you prior to issuing an application -- to approving an application. Get a copy of your credit reports, go through it, see what kind of fraudulent activity is on there, and then you're going to start calling all the credit issuers, as you did.

We know the average victim spends about 175 hours of time clearing the records, but as you know, the emotional impact is almost devastating.

WHITFIELD: How often or how long might it take before someone actually finds out that their identity is being duplicated out there and misused? Is it a matter of days, weeks or even sometimes months?

FOLEY: All of the above. I have some victims who the impostor used the actual victim's address, and all of a sudden they started getting credit cards and bills almost immediately. According to the Federal Trade Commission and the information I know, the average victim does not find out about 15 months after the crime first began. That's a long time for a criminal to have open access to your credit history, and a lot of damage can be done.

WHITFIELD: And typically, who might be targeted? Is there a certain profile of victims out there, or does it range the gamut?

FOLEY: Anyone who has a Social Security number is a potential victim. That means from just after birth until after death -- and I say after death, because I have a number of families who have a deceased member of the family whose Social Security number is now being used by an impostor.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right, thanks very much, Linda Foley. So best advice, tear up those credit card receipts or even some of those pre-approved credit card application you get in the mail, dispose of them, shred them, do what you can to protect yourself out there.

Thanks very much, Linda Foley, for joining us.

FOLEY: Thank you for having us.

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