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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, February 15, 2007

Hawai'i ranks 6th in ID theft

By Greg Wiles
Advertiser Staff Writer

WORST 10 STATES

The 10 states with the highest rates of identity fraud:

1. New York

2. California

3. Nevada

4. Arizona

5. Illinois

6. Hawai'i

7. Oregon

8. Michigan

9. Washington

10. Texas

Source: ID Analytics Inc.

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BEST 10 STATES

The 10 states with the lowest rates of identity fraud:

1. Wyoming

2. Vermont

3. Montana

4. North Dakota

5. New Hampshire

6. Ohio

7. Maine

8. Iowa

9. West Virginia

10. South Dakota

Source: ID Analytics Inc.

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PREVENTING IDENTITY THEFT

  • Don't give out your Social Security number, date of birth, or other personal information without asking how it's going to be used and why it is needed. Ask if other numbers can be substituted.

  • Use a locked mailbox for incoming mail and put outgoing mail in mail collection boxes. ID thieves sometimes drive around looking for homes with raised flags on their mailboxes, indicating outgoing mail. This practice is known as "redflagging."

  • Be cautious about sending sensitive information over home wireless networks.

  • Shred documents with personal information on them, including credit card solicitations. This guards you against "Dumpster divers" gaining your information.

  • Use a "wipe" program to write over the hard drives of computers you are disposing.

  • Check your credit report by going to www.annualcreditreport.com or call (877) 322-8228. (You'll be asked for your Social Security number here as part of the verification process.)

  • Monitor your monthly bank, credit card and other financial statements for any unusual activity.

    WHAT TO DO IF VICTIMIZED

  • Call credit card issuers immediately and close accounts if necessary.

  • Notify your bank.

  • File a police report.

  • Contact the three major credit reporting agencies and explain the situation. The agencies are Equifax (800) 525-6285, Experian (888) 397-3742 and TransUnion (800) 680-7289.

    In addition, the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs maintains a hot line you can call at 587-3222 during business hours. The department also maintains a Web site with information about identity theft at www.idtheft.hawaii.gov.

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    Hawai'i has the sixth-worst record in the nation for identity theft and fraud, a new study shows.

    "Local businesses and even national businesses need to be aware that Honolulu ... has a substantially higher identity fraud rate," said Stephen Coggeshall, author of the report by San Diego-based ID Analytics Inc.

    "The problem is growing and has been growing," added Chris Van Marter, Honolulu deputy prosecuting attorney and head of a white-collar crime unit. "The problem is going to get worse before it gets better."

    ID Analytics' survey included crimes committed by people using other people's identities and thieves attempting to apply for credit or buy goods using made-up names. Using false names or information comprised as many as nine out of every 10 cases of identity fraud nationwide, the study found.

    Van Marter said it's difficult to quantify exactly how bad the identity fraud problem is locally because reporting the crime isn't uniform and good numbers are difficult to come by.

    His office has prosecuted 300 cases over the past five years. The crime has hit a broad-range of people, with some of the more high-profile cases in Hawai'i involving stolen identities for prominent Honolulu attorney Bill McCorriston, state Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge John Lim and Honolulu Police Lt. Jeff Richards.

    Losses can add up to tens of thousands of dollars while clearing up identity breaches sometimes takes months. Ron Brech, a Kailua resident who had his identity stolen by someone who was out on bond for another identity theft case, told a court that he was still encountering some credit problems a year after the theft problems were first detected.

    TOUGHER LAWS

    Identity theft has received high-profile attention from state officials. Six bills were signed into law after last year's legislative session to offer more protections to consumers. Local companies also have picked up on the problem, with American Savings Bank and Island Insurance Co. offering identity theft recovery services as a perk to customers.

    Identity theft "is a very serious problem in Hawai'i," Van Marter said.

    ID Analytics examined applications for credit cards, retail credit and wireless phones and other data to find actual and attempted identity fraud. It found the fraudulent activity occurred in Hawai'i at 1.5 times the national rate, and was even higher in parts of urban Honolulu.

    "Absolutely we can say these are areas that are risky areas with respect to identity fraud," Coggeshall said. "Those are hot spots."

    The report contrasts with one last week from the Federal Trade Commission that focused solely on identity theft as reported by victims. ID Analytics' research was based on actual and attempted fraud rather than on victims' reports.

    DIFFERENT DATA

    The FTC found the number of identity theft complaints it received from Hawai'i in 2006 declined to 615 from 810 a year earlier. Because of that, the state dropped to 39th in the FTC's identity-theft rankings from 25th in 2005.

    Reach Greg Wiles at gwiles@honoluluadvertiser.com.