Identity thieves find new ways to hit consumers

Authorities say it’s a fast growing crime and doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

Identity theft strikes millions each year and many times the suspect is never caught.

Experts say identity theft can come in many different forms. It could be someone compromising your debit and credit card to a thief actually taking loans out in your name.

ABC 17 News talked to one victim who went through the ordeal herself. Amy Sanders troubles started last fall when she received letters from cellphone companies asking if she wanted extra insurance on cellphones she didn’t have. She called the company and they were marked as fraud, she thought that was the end.

Then in December, Sanders got another call from a collections department, saying she was delinquent on payments for a Chrysler minivan — a minivan that was not sitting in her driveway.

She filed a police report and then in January got another call from a different bank saying she was delinquent on a different car loan. She later found out it was bought at the same Las Vegas dealership as the minivan on the same day by the same woman.

Sanders says through the investigation she learned the woman had a fake drivers license with her information on it. The woman was arrested. While Sanders had shopped at stores tied to breaches she still doesn’t know for sure how her information was stolen. She has now signed up for an identity theft protection service to alert her if someone is using her information to get credit.

Another way to protect yourself can happen right at your ATM. Financial experts are warning customers to check for skimming devices. Thieves put the devices right over the card reader and send the information back to them. They also mount a camera on the ATM to capture victim’s pin numbers.

Skimming devices even showed up on some ATMs in the Kansas City area.

Another scam that’s growing is tax fraud, when thieves claim a victim’s refund. Investigators can’t pinpoint the increase to one certain thing, they just know it happens when a thief gets a hold of someone’s Social Security number to file a return.

Most banks work with holding companies to protect customer’s information. Boone County National Bank also does internal audits during and after bank hours to make sure customers information is not out in the open.

When it comes to the protection from some retailers, a new report found 90 percent of card readers use the same password. The codes are even out there online. Potentially allowing cyber thieves to hack in and get customers data.

To avoid identity theft the Federal Trade Commission recommends people check their credit report to see if anything looks off. The Fair Credit Reporting act requires each of the nationwide credit companies to provide this free once a year.