Identity Theft Complaints Top FTC List for 2003

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Identity theft complaints topped the Federal Trade Commission's list of consumer complaints for the fourth year in a row.* The FTC received more than half a million complaints in 2003 and 42% were related to identity theft. Advance fee loans and credit protection complaints also made the top ten list. According to the study, ID theft victims' information was used for:

• Credit card fraud - 33%

• Phone or utilities fraud - 21%

• Bank fraud - 17%

• Employment related fraud - 11%

*FTC report, "National and State Trends in Fraud and ID Theft” www.consumer.gov/sentinel/pubs/Top10Fraud2003.pdf

New Identity Theft Survey Reveals Latest Count of Victims Need for Greater Protection

"It's clear that more remains to be done," --Debra Janssen, president, First Data Debit Services

Incidents of phishing and identify theft continue to increase dramatically, according to an independent nationwide survey of consumers, released by electronic commerce and payments leader First Data Corp.* The survey found that 6.8 percent of adults have been victimized by identity theft and a striking 43.4 percent of adults have received a "phishing" contact. Further, the study indicates that as many as 54 million Americans have been the victims of ID-related fraud.

Phishing is a growing form of attempted identity theft in which consumers are contacted via bogus e-mail messages that try to lure them into providing personal information such as their Social Security number and/or financial account information. Phishers, or fraudsters, may pose as financial institutions, credit card companies, retailers, government agencies or other entities with which consumers have a relationship.

"This new survey confirms that identity theft and phishing are national threats, and that consumers need help to fight back," said Janssen. "Close to 5 percent of phishing attempts are successful, despite significant efforts by the financial community to raise awareness and educate consumers about phishing. First Data is teeming up with Regions Financial Corporation to distribute a series of radio and television public service announcements to help consumers recognize phishing schemes before they become victims.

2004 research by STAR/Synovate also revealed that 50 percent of consumers surveyed continue to be very/extremely concerned about identity theft, which is consistent with an earlier study that found that 51 percent of consumers were very/extremely concerned about identity theft (April 2003 STAR/Synovate survey). The 2004 survey results revealed that Americans' concern about identity theft ranks close in importance to terrorism within U.S. borders (53 percent), state of the economy (52 percent), and concern about unemployment (41 percent).

More than one-third of consumers surveyed (36.6 percent) reported that they have received a phishing e-mail, while 19 percent said they have received a phishing phone call. Of those consumers who said they were contacted by phishers, 5 percent trusted the phishers enough to provide the requested personal information. Of those who said they provided information, nearly half (45 percent) reported that the information was used to make an unauthorized transaction, open an account, or commit another type of identity theft. In the past year, this contributed to the approximately 2 million new identity theft victims from phishing alone.

Protect yourself! Be very wary about responding to email from a financial institution or service provider. Instead go directly to the provider's website to log in. Remember that EverydayWealth offers you $25,000 of identity theft/credit fraud insurance with no deductible through AIG, and we'll help you monitor your credit report and financial accounts for suspicious activity. You can't be too careful these days!

*To read the press release and get tips on avoiding ID theft and phishing, visit www.star.com

**Update**

If you shopped at footwear retailer DSW between November 2004 and February 2005, watch out: your credit card or checking account information may have been compromised. Credit card and check information was stolen from more than a million customers of footwear retailer DSW, which has just released findings from an investigation into the theft of credit card and other purchase information from customers.

According to DSW:

Information from 108 stores was stolen. A list of these stores is available on DSW's website*.

Transaction information involving 1.4 million credit cards was obtained. For each card, the stolen information includes the credit or debit card number, name and transaction amount. Neither addresses nor any other information from the credit card users was stolen, as it was not provided at the point of purchase and, therefore, not stored. (No PIN numbers were among the stolen data.)

Transaction information involving 96,000 checks was stolen. In these cases, checking account numbers and driver's license numbers were obtained. Importantly, customer names, addresses and Social Security numbers were not obtained.

Customer information provided through the DSW proprietary Reward Your Style Program or via the web site was not accessed or stolen.

DSW has contacted federal law enforcement authorities who continue to investigate this crime; hired a computer security firm, Ubizen, to conduct a forensic investigation; and notified cardholder associations (VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express) of the theft.

Through the cardholder associations, DSW was able to obtain contact information for about half of the affected credit card customers, and is in the process of sending notification letters to each of these customers. The letter advises customers to contact their credit card company or issuing bank for further instructions, and directs customers to other helpful resources. DSW has also been able to gather names and addresses for approximately 88 percent of the affected checking account customers and is in the process of sending notification letters to each of these customers as well.

If a DSW customer suspects unauthorized use of their credit card, debit card or checking account, they should immediately contact their credit card company or issuing bank to notify them of the possible unauthorized transactions. Customers with questions can call the special DSW help line: 1-800-314-0224.

This is yet another reminder why you can't be too careful! Make sure you review your credit report monthly through EverydayWealth, and use your Wealth Monitor to alert you to unusual activity to your credit cards or checking account. If you suspect you may be a victim of fraud, immediately contact AIG to activate your identity theft insurance benefits.

* To read the press release, and for more information, visit www.dswshoe.com/pressRelease.jsp