FF_091919

frankfortstationdaily.com news
the frankfort station | September 19, 2019 | 9
State rep’s seminar gives tips
on avoiding identity theft
Nuria Mathog, Editor
Being targeted for identity
theft is an unfortunately
all-too-common situation,
but State Rep. Margo
McDermed (R-Mokena) is
working to prevent residents
from becoming
future victims by giving
them tools and information
to keep their identity
safe.
On Sept. 10, about a
dozen Lincoln-Way area
residents attended a seminar
hosted by McDermed
at the Frankfort Public Library
District that provided
an overview of different
types of identity theft
and ways to safeguard
their personal information.
“This is one of the presentations
that our staff
does all throughout the
state to try to educate Illinois
consumers and try
keep us safe from the
predators that are on our
phones, on our computers,
on our landlines and
everywhere,” McDermed
said. Her office is also
scheduled to host a free
shredding event and food
drive from 10-11 a.m. Saturday,
Sept. 21, at 11032
W. Lincoln Highway in
Frankfort.
Samantha Alonso, who
handles constituent affairs
for the Illinois Office of
the Comptroller, said one
of the most common methods
of committing identity
theft is through imposter
scams, which involve an
individual pretending to
represent the IRS or another
agency or company
to collect money from an
unsuspecting victim. Oth-
6
er known ways of stealing
personal data include using
credit card skimmers
at pumps at the gas station
and stealing credit card information
saved on an online
profile, she said.
Alonso urged seniors
who suspected that they
may be targets for identity
theft to ask questions
about why they needed to
give personal information
out over the phone.
“If they’re a legitimate
company, they will not
pressure you to give such
information,” Alonso said.
“If anyone ever calls you,
whether it’s AT&T, your
hospital, insurance and so
on and so forth, and they
ask you for your social security
number, we recommend
you ask these questions
first: Why do you
need my number? How
will it be used? What will
happen if I refuse to give
it to you, and can I provide
you with just the last four
digits? If they’re a legit
company and just want to
verify your information,
this should be more than
helpful for them.”
According to Alonso,
in 2017, one in every 15
American adults was an
identity theft victim and
$905 million was stolen
as a result of identity theft.
Alonso said children are
particularly susceptible
to having their identity
stolen: Thirty-nine percent
of children have their
identity stolen every year
in the U.S., and of that figure,
60 percent have their
identity stolen by family
or friends.
“Recently, I had a constituent
that told me that
their older sister stole their
identity when they were a
child,” Alonso said. “She
bought a car when she was
in high school. She didn’t
have the credit, so she borrowed
her younger sister’s
credit. So, therefore it’s
very important that if you
are the parent of a child to
be very careful with that
information.”
Alonso recommended
that seniors leave their social
security card at home
or at a safe location to
prevent identity theft in
the event that their wallet
is stolen. Other methods
residents can use to protect
personal data include
shredding documents,
using secure WiFi and
changing login information
frequently, she said.
Cathy Hambric, of Mokena,
said she decided to
attend the event with fellow
Mokena resident Sharon
Daley after reading
about it in the newspaper.
“Identity theft is very
scary, and I’ve heard a
lot of people have gone
through this, where they
call and say that a relative
of yours is in jail or something
... I’ve known quite
a few people,” Hambric
said. “And I’ve noticed
that places try to help
them. My kid works at
Walgreens and somebody
came in Walgreens and
was saying they needed
Western Union to send
overseas somewhere, and
they questioned them, and
they discouraged them
from doing it. So, that’s a
good thing.”
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