Identity theft seminar teaches students safety

Stephen Svetz, investigator with the Arkansas Attorney General?s office, told students about his identity being stolen to help drive home his message of preventing identity theft.
Svetz spoke to a crowd March 12 in the College of Business Auditorium.
?About seven years ago, I used my credit card to reserve a hotel room with a guy over a telephone in Branson,? he said. ?A month after the trip, I get my credit card bill and this guy put a semester?s worth of tuition on my credit card.?
Svetz said the man who stole his identity was not hard to find because he used his own name to charge the card.
Svetz said identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the United States and has been for the past 10 years.
He discussed the legal troubles Todd Davis, LifeLock chief executive officer, has caused.
Svetz said Davis claimed anyone who purchased LifeLock would never be a victim of identity theft.
Svetz said LifeLock has made a lot of money, but that it doesn?t protect consumers.
The Federal Trade Commission sued LifeLock after an investigation of the identity theft prevention company found false claims were used to promote protection services.
LifeLock agreed to pay $11 million to the FTC and $1 million to 35 state attorneys general. Svetz said the company is back in business with a new business plan that looks beyond the legal troubles.
He told the story of David Lynn Jones, songwriter for Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Janis Rae Wallace worked for Jones and racked up $350,000 in credit card debt on his account.
Jones lost his home and was a victim of identity theft for seven years.
Svetz said this was the worst case of identity theft he has seen because Jones lost his driver?s license.
Another story Svetz told to illustrate the dangers of identity theft involved Little Rock resident Deldrick Withers.
Withers was pulled over for a broken license plate light during a family visit to Hampton, Ark.
Police ran his name and found that he had five arrest warrants for hot check violations.
Withers was placed in handcuffs and spent 29 days in jail because he lost his driver?s license.
Svetz ended the lecture with a story about a woman he referred to as Nancy.
He said Nancy was a retired military woman who became ill and hired a company employee to take care of her.
One caregiver lived with Nancy full-time and stole $450,000 from Nancy.
Svetz said the caregiver got Nancy?s house and kept it until dying of a drug overdose a few years ago.
Svetz said if Nancy dies before the trial is settled, the caregiver?s family will get the house.
Svetz shared advice on social security numbers.
He said to never put a social security number on a job application, and told the audience to get a new driver?s license number after losing the previous license.
He said to be wary of writing out children?s social security numbers when signing them up for sports, dance classes or other activities.
Svetz said social security cards are the most dangerous pieces of paper in the country, with checks being a close second.
Svetz said to be wary of email accounts because they are vulnerable to hacking.
Mark McMurtrey, Management Information Systems associate professor, said he was glad to have Svetz speak to UCA students.
?Mr. Svetz always brings his real world experience concerning identity theft,? McMurtrey said. ?His anecdotes and real-life stories make the rest of us realize how harrowing identity theft must be.?

Source: http://ucaecho.net/campus-life/identity-theft-seminar-teaches-students-safety/

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