Almost everyone is at risk for ID theft - even children

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Almost everyone is at risk for ID theft - even children
By Harriet Johnson Brackey
South Florida Sun-SentinelFebruary 19, 2006

When Harrison Ford in the current movie Firewall checks his credit report, he finds out he's been the victim of identity theft. Then the action begins.

That drama happens to all sorts of people every day in South Florida.

Identity thieves seem to haunt our state more than almost anywhere. In typical states, the Federal Trade Commission says it gets about four identity theft complaints for every 10 fraud complaints that it receives. From Florida, last year there were seven identity theft complaints to every 10 fraud complaints.

There were 25,000 complaints about identity theft last year in all of Florida.A lot of them came from this region. The FTC listed the South Florida region as sixth in the nation for identity theft. Among major cities, its rate of almost 132 complaints to the federal agency for every 100,000 people puts the region ahead of New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.

Nationwide, an estimated 28 million adults have become identity theft victims since 2003.

At risk: Practically anyone. Hispanics are the most victimized ethnic group, according to a survey from Javelin Strategy & Research. The rich, those with incomes of $150,000 or more, get hit often. And by age, it's the young, 18 to 29, who are targeted in the greatest numbers, according to the FTC.

There's also a seriously disturbing increase in the theft of children's identities, which law enforcement officials say is beginning to show up locally. Complaints to the federal government have risen from only 6,500 three years ago to more than 11,000 last year about identity theft for those under the age of 18.

What can you do? Besides guarding your personal information closely, you should regularly check your financial records to see what's on them.

"I think personally one of the most important things a consumer can do to minimize the risk of identity theft is to look at your credit report.

You can see clearly whether there are accounts on there that may not be yours," said Cindy Liebes, assistant regional director in the FTC's Southeast Region office in Atlanta.

It's not difficult to follow her advice. You can check your report once a year for free or pay a small sum to see it more often. Here's a guide to finding and reading credit reports.

Harriet Johnson Brackey can be reached at hjbrackey@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4614.
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