Identity theft: The online risks, scams grow ever larger

With the rise of technology, identity theft is happening more and more frequently.

“Overall, I believe there are 17 million cases of identity theft reported in 2014 and I believe that was up 2 million from the previous reported year,” Deschutes County sheriff’s Capt. Paul Garrison said recently.

Technology has been making your information vulnerable to cyber-predators.

“Individuals are likely to experience with it in their day-to-day activities across the internet, whether it be with your phone or home computer,” said Tyler Hardison, information security analyst at Redhawk Security in Bend.

And even with the most up-to-date security, there are still plenty of ways cyber attackers can get to you.

“Instead of going now and robbing a bank, people can sit in their home and be drinking Mountain Dew and eating hot Cheetos on their keyboards — and getting people’s info and doing stuff with it,” said Kyle Frick with Mid Oregon Credit Union.

Our online life style is a hacker’s delight, with the primary offense being internet phishing.

“When your password or a security question is addressed as being your mother’s maiden name, oftentimes that info can be gleaned from your Facebook account or some other type of social media of that nature,” said Zach Neemann, digital forensics analyst with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.

According to Neemann, phishing scams can take many forms and may be very difficult to identify.

“The most common are when people send you text messages, say from your bank, and they need some verification, saying ‘Click on this link here.’ Send you an email and say, ‘I’m your health care provider. I need your Social Security number to verify your account,'” he said.

The key is to be able to identify those phishing schemes. Look out for unfamiliar emails — and as always, be careful who you give your information to.

If you’re not sure if an email or text is legitimate, call the company and ask.

“There are also the phone calls that come from individuals calling from the same type of solicitation of information, whether it’s your name or date of birth or Social Security number,” Garrison said.

Another method is tax scamming. That’s where people will call and ask for personal information after claiming they’re from the IRS.

But there are many other phone scams people are unaware of.

“Previously,” Garrison said, “we’ve had scams such as folks calling in to discuss that a relative is in a nearby jail, ‘so we need to have money placed on their books, so therefore go and acquire a Visa card and give us the numbers.'”

But the most dangerous scams are the ones that could affect your bank account.

Frick said, “The big ones that concern us more are the higher-level data breaches, where we have to replace hundreds or thousands of members’ cards. because we get notified that their information has been compromised.”

Our connected world means connected bank accounts.

“Online is the No. 1 way people utilized credit card information,” Frick. “The other way is the card skimmers.”

And when it comes to the bank’s costs it’s not cheap.

“Well it’s in the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Frick said.

And to see how exactly to be safe, make sure to tune in to NewsChannel 21 Thursday at 6 p.m.,, for Alex Biston’s story, where she explains how to protect yourself — and what to do if your identity is stolen.