Alameda County Office of the District Attorney. Nancy O Malley District Attorney

Alameda County

Office of the

District Attorney

Nancy O’Malley

District Attorney

Mission Statement

To review and prosecute criminal

violations of the laws, to protect

consumers and the environment

and to support and protect victims

of crime within the County on

behalf of the people of the State of

California.

IDENTIFY THEFT:

Don’t YOU be a Victim

STEALING THE OLD

FASHIONED WAY

• Small gain, great risk

• Victim can ID you

• Victim can fight back

• Police can chase you

• Gun enhancements

• “Strike” charges

STEALING VIA ID THEFT

• High profit- low risk

• No victim contact • No weapon use • Police undermanned and overwhelmed • If caught- probation or misdemeanor

“Stop. Think. Connect.”

Campaign

STOP

Before you use the internet, take time to

understand the risks and learn how to

spot potential problems.

“Stop. Think. Connect.”

Campaign

THINK

Take a moment to be certain the path

ahead is clear. Watch for warning signs

and consider how your actions online

could impact your safety, or your

family’s.

“Stop. Think. Connect.”

Campaign

CONNECT

Enjoy the Internet with greater

confidence, knowing you’ve taken the

right steps to safeguard yourself and

your computer.

Cybersafety

The rules and behaviors designed to keep

individuals safe whenever they are connected to the internet.

Ask yourself:

• WHO is asking for my personal information?

• WHAT information is requested?

• WHY do they need this personal information?

Stranger Danger!

• Don’t chat online or exchange emails with strangers

• Don’t accept strangers into your Facebook or other online profiles

• Don’t share information about yourself in strangers in other forums

Stranger Danger!

• Don’t put personal information in public postings

eg. where you live, work, go to school

• Don’t leave your mobile devices where other people can access them

Cybercrime

• Stealing, trading, or making illegal copies of music and software

• Using stolen credit cards to make purchases

• Identity theft, pretending to be someone you’re not

Mobile devices

• There’s an app for everything – do you know where your information is going?

• Cell phones are now accessible by hackers

• Many phones have settings and capture

information that tells the world where you are and have been

THINK….

ID THEFT - DEFINITION

Obtaining the “Personal Identifying Information” of another person AND using it to do something illegal. PC 530.5

COMMON EXAMPLES:

•Victim’s “PII” used to fraudulently open an account.

•Victim’s “PII” used to manufacture

Lawyer scammed out of $182,000 in

check-fraud scam

Lawyers Warned to Be

Lawyer scammed out of $182,000 in

check-fraud scam

•Houston lawyer;

•Law firm was scammed out of $182,500;

•Client who contacted and hired him through e-mail

PERSONAL IDENTIFYING

INFORMATION - PC 530.55(b)

•

Name and address.

•

Telephone number.

•

Driver's license number.

•

Social security number.

•

Place of employment.

•

Employee identification number.

•

Government passport number.

PERSONAL IDENTIFYING

INFORMATION – PC 530.55(b)

•

Mother's maiden name.

•

Demand deposit account number.

•

Savings account number.

•

Credit card number.

•

PIN or password.

•

Unique biometric data like fingerprints.

•

Voice print.

WHO IS A “PERSON” ?

PENAL CODE §530.55(a)

• Natural Person (living or deceased)

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

KEY COMPONENT OF

THE CRIME

Acquisition of personal

identifying information

HOW DO IDENTITY THEIVES

GET PII

Jury Scam Alert

The Administrative Office of the Courts has seen

a recent resurgence in use of a jury identity theft scam. More than a dozen states-including

California-have issued public warnings about calls from people claiming to be court officials

seeking personal information.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is aware of the scam and cautions people

Jury Scam Alert

The Administrative Office of the Courts and Staff of the superior courts will never ask

past or prospective jurors for

financial details, credit card numbers, bank account or personal information like Social Security numbers.

Please do not provide this type of information

COMPUTER HACKING

• CheckFree Corp. (Atlanta, GA)

• Their electronic bill payment service was compromised & criminals took control of several of the company's Internet domains and redirected customer traffic to a malicious Web site hosted in the Ukraine.

• This breach was reported in 12/3/08.

• 5,000,000 accounts/records compromised

WIRELESS ACCESS POINTS

• Risk #1 – Exposure of data on computer. • Risk #2 – Exposure of data to & from WAP. • Risk #3 – Unauthorized use of your WAP. • Solution = WAP security i.e. lock down!

WAP SECURITY TIPS

1. Change WAP default name.

2. Change WAP administrator password.

3. Enable WAP’s encryption feature.

4. Enable MAC address control (PC adapter card).

5. Download WAP software updates for patches.

LAPTOP COMPUTER LOST

• US Army

• Security breach regarding PII stored on a lost laptop computer affecting more than 6,000

beneficiaries. Names, Social Security

numbers and health information was stored on the laptop.

LAPTOP COMPUTER STOLEN

• Starbucks Corp. (Seattle, WA)

• A laptop containing private information on employees was stolen. The

information included names, addresses and Social Security numbers.

UNWIPED COMPUTER

GIVEN TO 3

P

• Law office of former Texas attorney

• Used computer and memory stick purchased from a pawn shop. Contained PII traced back to law office of a Texas attorney who no

longer practices law. The attorney is now a Texas State Representative.

HIGH-TECH METHODS OF

OBTAINING PII

•

Credit card skimmers.

•

Bluetooth skimmers on atm’s, gas pumps...

•

Hacking unsecured wireless networks (goal:

data of connected computers).

•

Phishing scams.

HIGH-TECH METHODS OF

OBTAINING PII

HIGH-TECH METHODS OF

OBTAINING PII

•Recently, Lucky’s Stores hit by use of skimmer on the ATM

LOW-TECH METHODS

OF OBTAINING PII

• Mail theft

• Theft wallets, purses & other personal property

• Residential & auto burglary

• Dumpster diving & garbage

• Social engineering via phone

• Insider employee theft

NEGLIGENT DISPOSAL OF

DOCUMENTS WITH PII

•

Pinellas County & Florida state

agency offices

•

Documents with Social Security

numbers, medical information and

PII found in trash containers at

government buildings.

NEGLIGENT DISPOSAL OF

DOCUMENTS WITH PII

•

Hundreds of improperly discarded

records were found including

medical data, privileged

communications between attorneys

and clients, juvenile defendant

records and child abuse materials.

•

PEOPLE V. TROY THOMAS

(PII obtained via murder)

•

Victim was executed at his home

by defendant (def)

•

After killing the victim, def

spent 3 hours organizing v’s pii

for use

PEOPLE V. TROY THOMAS

(PII obtained via murder)

•

Def’s plan: transfer all of v’s assets

into his name

•

Def was caught after falling asleep

in v’s car w/ the dead body in the

backseat.

PENAL CODE §530.5

3 METHODS OF VIOLATING

1. Use of PII - PC 530.5(a)

2. Acquire/retain PII – PC 530.5(c)(1)–(3)

COMMON WAYS PII IS USED

•

Create counterfeit

identifications

•

Credit card account takeovers

COMMON WAYS PII IS USED

•

Open new bank accounts

•

Make/negotiate counterfeit

checks

COMMON WAYS PII IS USED

•

Purchase vehicles/real estate

•

Bankruptcy filings – automatic

stay

SAMPLE CASE

PEOPLE V. JOHN DOE

• Police received an informant tip that Mr. Doe was involved in identity theft.

•The informant revealed that Mr. DOE WAS GENERATING IN EXCESS OF $1,000,000 A YEAR MANUFACTURING CHECKS, ids, ETC.

•After further investigation, police obtained a search for Mr. Doe’s residence.

EVIDENCE RECOVERED

DURING THE SEARCH

•2007 Ferrari purchased using an ID Theft victim’s PII.

•Mortgage documents showing house purchase using ID Theft victim’s PII.

•$1,200,000 cash.

•Over 500 counterfeit identifications.

REDUCING THE RISK

• Proactively securing your “PII” by reducing access to it.

• Secure your “PII” in safe place.

• Use secure mailboxes.

• Safeguard your personal property, such as wallets & purses.

REDUCING THE RISK

• Use a security freeze to block your credit block profile.

• Do not use common passwords/pins, such as birth date, maiden name, etc.

• Don’t give out your “pi” over the phone unless you know the caller.

• Check your credit report every 3 months to verify no fraud activity.

BASIC 4 STEPS IF

VICTIMIZED?

• File a police report in city where you reside or place of business.

• Contact the merchant/issuer of credit to close line of credit.

• Contact the 3 credit bureas. (Experian, trans union & equifax)

• CONTACT THE FEDERAL TRADE

COMMISSION AT 877-438-4338 OR ONLINE AT http://www.Consumer.Gov/idtheft.

ID THEFT VICTIM RIGHTS

OVERVIEW

1. File an identity theft police report.

PC 530.6(a) - City of residence or place of business

2. Obtain copies of documents related to the fraud. PC 530.8(a) www.oispp.ca.gov

3. Remove fraudulent information from credit files. CA Civil Code 1785.16 et seq, Fed. Fair Credit Reporting Act, etc.

ID THEFT VICTIM RIGHTS

OVERVIEW

4. Right to receive up to 12 free credits reports (1 per mo). 1 Year from date of police report. CA CC 1785.15.3(b)

5. Right to stop debt collection on fraud transactions. CA CC 1788.18

6. Right to sue or assert a defense regarding ownership of property obtained through identity theft.

ID THEFT VICTIM RIGHTS

7. Expedited Superior court hearing and judge’s order finding victim factually innocent.

-Criminal record then deleted, sealed or labeled fraud. -PC 530.6

8. Listing in CA DOJ Identity Theft Victim Registry. -PC 530.6 & PC 530.7

VICTIM RESOURCES

• Free credit reports annually.

www.annualcreditreport.com

• Obtaining security freezes.

– www.transunion.com

– www.equifax.com

– www.experian.com

• Victim information and forms. www.ftc.gov

Questions?

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office

Nancy E. O’Malley, District Attorney

Phone: (510) 272 – 6222 Email: info@acgov.org