Police ramp up efforts to prevent ID theft

Police ramp up efforts to prevent ID theft

Each day, more people become victims of identity theft, and many don't find out about it until it is too late. Although some police precincts don't put a high priority on credit card fraud, some diligent detectives in Central Florida make sure to investigate every case of identity theft.

Recently, Marva Hinton of WDBO talked to the detectives working at the Oviedo, Fla., police department. Det. Wade Weaver is quoted in Hinton's piece as saying, "There's low risk and very high reward" for criminals who steal identities. That's why the work that the Oviedo detectives do is so crucial. By investigating each identity theft complaint that comes their way, they don't let the paper trail grow cold.

Oviedo's aggressive credit card fraud policy stands out compared with other police precincts across the country. In Killeen, Texas, for example, the police will file a report and then forward it to the precinct house close to where they think the suspect lives. Unfortunately, those who commit credit card fraud typically use false names and addresses, which means the window of opportunity closes rather quickly. Surveillance recordings, which are crucial evidence in cases like these, tend to get recycled or erased after 90 days.

By chasing down every lead, the detectives in Oviedo also have uncovered some emerging patterns. Detective Weaver is quoted by WDBO as saying he noticed an increase in credit card skimming, a technique where a card number is stolen as it used at a point-of-sale terminal or an ATM. By identifying patterns like these, police have a better chance of capturing the criminals responsible for credit card fraud.

Safeguarding your merchant account
As a business owner, you have a responsibility to both your customers and yourself to report all suspected cases of identity theft. To help your local police department with its investigations, be on the lookout for the following warning signs:

• Small pre-authorizations. If your company gets a lot of phone calls from consumers questioning small charges on their credit card bills, your merchant account may have been hijacked. Credit card thieves use pre-authorizations of just a few dollars to check the usefulness of an account number. If you get several complaint calls, call the bank where you maintain your merchant account immediately to see about changing the number.
• High-ticket purchases. Make it a companywide policy that customers must show a valid picture ID when making purchases over a set dollar amount. For any gift card purchase made with a credit card, have your clerks check IDs as well. Identity thieves tend to purchase gift vouchers with stolen credit cards.
• Invalid signatures. A clerk at a busy register may not always check a credit card before swiping it through a reader. Make sure that every salesperson double-checks signatures and, if a cardholder has "see ID" in the signature line, they should ask for photo identification.
• Online scams. If you accept credit cards through your Web site, be cautious of a customer with an American address who asks you to ship an item to China or another foreign country. Chances are good that identity thieves have placed the order and want the item sent directly to them.

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