The November Festive Friday was held at the old courthouse. Barbra Jones gave tips for shopping during the holidays. She said, now is the time to take advantage of the holiday food sales, baking goods such as chocolate chips, flour, sugar and butter are on sale. There are special deals on hams and turkeys. You can buy a ham or turkey and freeze it for future use. Only buy what you are going to use, don’t buy something just because it’s a good deal.
Christine Jensen presented a slide show entitled, understanding and preventing identity theft. Identity theft is the number one crime in America according to the Federal Trade Commission. Fifty percent of all identity theft victims know the person who committed the crime. In 2013, there were 13.1 million cases of identity theft up from 11 million cases in 2011.
Under federal law, identity theft occurs when someone uses or attempts to use the sensitive personal information of another person to commit fraud. A wide range of sensitive personal information can be used to commit identity theft, including a person’s name, address, date of birth, Social Security Number, driver’s license number, credit card and bank account numbers, phone numbers, and even biometric data like fingerprints and iris scans (ftc.gov).
Identity theft is an constantly evolving crime. The individuals who commit these crimes are always coming up with new and sophisticated ways to obtain personal information.
It is important to keep your information secure, never give your SSN to people on the phone who say they are from the bank, hospital or credit card company. They already have your personal information. If you are suspicious hang up and contact the agency directly and report the incident. Shred any paperwork and old credit cards using a cross-cut shredder. Don’t carry your SSN in your wallet or purse. Make copies of your credit cards (front and back) and identification, store them in a safe and secure location. You can use these copies to call and cancel your credit cards in the event they are stolen or compromised.
Phishing is another method used by identity thieves. Phishers try to get your personal information through the internet. Never open a link on an e-mail that looks suspicious. This will often take you to a fraudulent website and request your personal information. Do not respond to credit card offers, lotteries or insurance offers through e-mail.
Children are 35 times more likely to be targeted for identity theft. Children’s credit reports can go unmonitored until the child applies for college, loans or employment when they are 18. Parents should advise their children not to give out their personal information. You can go to attorneygeneral.utah.gov to find out about identity theft. You can go to http://idtheft.utah.gov/index.html to find out about Child Identity Protection. CIP is intended to help prevent identity thieves from using the personal identifying information of Utah children in the issuance of credit.
If you are the victim of identity theft, put a fraud alert on your credit file, monitor all of your accounts for suspicious activity, get a credit report, file a police report and file a report with your state attorney general.
The next Festive Friday will be on Dec. 12. There will be no charge. Bring your favorite food to share with everyone.
Festive Friday: Protect your identity from thieves
"A festive lunch at Festive Friday."