Identity theft is a growing concern in Illinois.

Kevin McClain, owner of Kevin W. McClain Investigations LTD, is an expert on identity theft in Illinois and says, for all the attention that has been given to the problem, people are still not prepared to handle the threat of identity theft.

“It’s a very new field and a lot of people don’t know how to deal with it,” he said. “They need all the help they can get.”

McClain has provided advice to many different banks, credit agencies and other venues about the perils of identity theft.

On Friday, he will address a convention of the Illinois State Bar Association about the problem. He said informing lawyers about identity threat will not only help them learn how avoid identity theft, but also allow them to help their clients who deal with identity theft.

He said by giving lawyers the tools they need to handle identity theft; he is helping them to provide sound legal advice to their clients who deal with identity theft.

McClain said it is important for these lawyers to know how to handle people who have been victims of identity theft because it is so economically and emotionally draining for those victims.

He said he gives speeches and seminars like these because of the growing threat that identity theft presents and because of how unprepared most people, including law enforcement agencies, are to handle it.

“In this day and age identity theft is becoming the big white collar crime and most agencies don’t know what to do about it,” McClain said.

Identity Theft in Coles County

Coles County has not been immune to this fact.

Last week a Mattoon woman was forced to pay a fine, restitutions and serve jail time for stealing a man’s identity in order to get utility service from AmerenCIPS in 2006.

University Police Chief Adam Due said Eastern has had some problems with identity theft in the past on campus, but such activity has been minimal recently.

He said if there were such a case, UPD would report it and investigate it if it came under their jurisdiction.

Due said the only way the Charleston Police Department or other law enforcement agencies would get involved would be if the case involved a local business or some other special circumstance.

McClain said local identity theft cases like these are the most common, though there are many examples of Internet and mail fraud as well.

While this case only involved the procurement of utilities, McClain said such examples of identity theft often lead to more elaborate and costly effects on the victims.

“If their doing something with utilities, they will probably try to do other things with it,” he said.

Identity Theft in Illinois

Natalie Bauer, a spokesperson for Attorney General Lisa Madigan, said Illinois has taken an active stand against identity theft.

She said a law was passed that required police officers to take reports of identity theft. The law also made provisions that would make restoring people’s lives and credit easier.

Bauer said Illinois was one of the first states in the nation to institute such a law.

She also said the Attorney General created the Identity Theft Hotline which helps victims quickly report stolen information and begin to get their on track as soon as possible.

The number of the toll free number of the Identity Theft Hotline is either (866) 999-5630 or (877) 844-5461.

Bauer also pointed out the Identity Theft Resource Guide compiled by the Attorney General’s office to help deal with the problem of identity theft.

The guide is available at the Attorney General’s Web site.

Preventing and Dealing with Identity Theft

If a person does become a victim of identity theft through any of the many ways a person, even the most protected person, can become a victim, McClain has several suggestion for how to weather the storm.

He said, if a case of identity theft were reported to his agency, the first thing he would do is make certain a police report had been filed and the person’s credit agencies had been notified.

McClain said this must be done first because these are the only two agencies that can ask or receive a report from stores about the use of a person’s credit card or personal information.

He would then suggest the person file a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus.

This will put a read flag on all use of a person’s credit.

This initial fraud alert only lasts for a period of 90 days before needing to be renewed by the victim. McClain said many identity thieves will wait until this period of time runs out before they try and use any of the information they have stolen.

“A smart identity thief will know that fraud alert will be on the information for 90 days and won’t use it till that time is up, so they will sit on that credit card for that time,” he said.

McClain said this is because most people do not renew the fraud alert after the 90 days is up and so identity thieves take advantage of this and begin using the information after that time.

In order to avoid all of the problems associated with identity theft, he suggests people keep a constant eye on their personal information and credit rating.

McClain, who has investigated many cases of identity theft, said the best piece of advice he gives to people is for them to be proactive in protecting their identity.

He suggests people get criss-cross paper shredders for their personal and business documents, personally pick up checks rather having them delivered, do not put full name on checks, keep as much personal information on checks to a minimum and use a gel pen when signing checks.

McClain said identity thieves, through a certain chemical process called “smudging,” can actually erase some of the information written by normal, ink based pens. This would allow them to erase intended names or amounts on check and re-write information for their own benefit. Using a gel pen makes “smudging” impossible.

The main point behind all of these suggestions is essentially to not leave oneself open to the possibility of identity theft.

“Be diligent about everything,” McClain said.

Tips on preventing identity theft from Attorney General Lisa Madigan:

Protect your mail. Know when your mail gets delivered and pick it up as soon as possible after delivery. If bills are late, contact your creditors. Never let your mail build up when you are out of town.

Keep papers containing your personal information in a safe place, and shred them when they are no longer needed.

Do not give out your Social Security number unless it is absolutely necessary.

Protect your identity when you shop online. Shop only with companies you know and trust. Use a secure browser and keep a record of all transactions.

Identity Theft Hotline

(866) 999-5630

(877) 844-5461

A copy of the Identity Theft Resource Guide can be found on here.

Jordan Crook can be reached at 581-7495 or at [email protected].