Letter: We should take the necessary steps to prevent identity theft

on September 11, 2012 at 11:21 PM, updated September 12, 2012 at 9:11 AM
senior-brigade.JPGSenior Brigade attendees listen to a presentation on identity theft.

Everyone knows identify theft is on the rise. 

How can we protect ourselves? It’s not that easy, especially when we have a very limited knowledge of these kinds of new crimes. 

To protect ourselves, we must make it harder for perpetrators to get our personal information and records from the Internet database companies.

Consider the problem of mistaken identity. How many of us share our names with one or several other people? 

If an identity mistake is made when applying for a job or credit, how can you correct it? We hear horror stories about what those unfortunate people go through trying to correct that mistake.

Were you aware that (for a fee, of course) you can see who is looking at your records? 

I did look, and I was shocked and very disappointed to see who was checking on me.

Sometimes it hurts to know the truth. Although we have all known that some people snoop in others' affairs, the Internet has made this unacceptable behavior easier and more intriguing to commit.

We need to put a stop to this madness; we should not be a target for every company (both American and foreign) with a database. What are they doing with our records anyway?

How can we solve this identity protection problem? First, don’t say your date of birth or your social security number to anyone over the phone, especially over a cell phone. (Only a few doctors track you under your social security number or your date of birth, and it is time for them to protect us by identifying us using a non-private numbering system.)

Second, write to your representatives, senators, and local officials. Ask them for legislation to lock down "public records" information so it is not available on the Internet, but only by court order. 

The only hope is for us to keep asking until our government officials reverse the current law. (Right now our public records cannot be sealed without “good cause,” such as if some perpetrator has already stolen our identity or another crime was committed against us.)

Third, try to remove your name from all online databases. It is not an easy or a one-time task; after all, it is a source of revenue for so many companies.

The public records laws were appropriate for their era, but we are now in a different time, with different risks. We need different laws to protect our identity.