Pub. 6 2016-2017 Issue 5

O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S March • April 2017 9 Is 22% Enough? Aligning Internal Security and Customer Protection to Compete BY JESSICA MASHBURN, CHIEF STRATEGIES OFFICER , SECURE IDENTITY SYSTEMS, LLC Imagine… …being pulled over for speeding and were immediately ar- rested for not showing up to your DUI court date in a state you have never even visited. This is a real-life, traumatic example of how a 75-year old victim spent a night in jail and weeks and thousands of dollars proving he was not that person. When people think of identity theft, most think of credit card or bank account fraud. Stories of charges being made with stolen account information are all too common. The misconception is that credit monitoring will keep you safe. This is 22% true. Credit monitoring is essential in keeping an eye on fraud- ulent financial activity- especially if you have already been a victim. However, 78% of identity theft is not credit related at all*. We all know Identity Theft is a crisis effecting everyone and no one is immune. Every time you turn on the TV, radio or read the news, there seems to be a new breach that has effected millions of people of all ages and walks of life. Even the most diligent in protecting their information are at risk. Even if you don’t own a financial account and pay cash for everything, your personal identifying information (Pii) is recorded and stored at your doctor’s office, utility companies and insurance companies to name a few. We have all heard of mass breach attacks such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield and even our government’s OPM (Office of Personal Management). These breaches were about much more than stealing credit card numbers. So why do criminals want our personal identifying information? Our identities are the key for criminals to open fraudulent accounts in our names, use our medical IDs for surgeries, infiltrate our tax returns, get jobs illegally, buy weapons, commit crimes unscathed and so much more. Criminals turn this into cash by selling our Pii on illegal commerce sites on the Dark-Web. The amount of time it takes to report and settle a fraudulent purchase is miniscule compared to cleaning up non-credit related identity theft. In fact, 32% of all victims spend amonth or more resolving problems with 36% reporting moderate or severe emotional distress**. Reduce and prevent risk. Although no one is immune to identity theft, steps can be taken to significantly reduce risk and even prevent identity theft and financial fraud. Below are examples of reactive and proactive tools that protect customers.