Reference no: EM132264496

Rate the following questions honestly. Each question represents a possible avenue for identity theft. For every "yes," add the specified number of points to your total.

I receive several offers of pre-approved credit every week.

I do not shred them before putting them in the trash.

I carry my Social Security card in my wallet.

My state driver's license has my Social Security Number printed on it.

I do not have a post office box or a secured mailbox.

I use an open box at work to drop off my outgoing mail.

I carry my military identification in my wallet at all times. 

I do not shred my banking or credit information when I throw it away. 

I provide my Social Security number whenever asked without asking questions.

I provide my Social Security number orally without checking to see who might be listening.

My Social Security number is used as my employee or student ID number.

My Social Security number is printed on my employee badge that I wear in public.

My Social Security number is printed on my personal checks.

I am listed in a "Who's Who" guide.

My Social Security number is used as my insurance ID number. 

I haven't ordered a copy of my credit report in 2 years.

I don't believe people will look through my trash for financial information.

Discussion Questions (personal views, no cited sources required)

Please complete the above “Identity Theft IQ Test” and see how you did. I am not going to ask you to submit your scores to me so be honest with yourself. If you score high on this then perhaps changes to how you or others you know manage personal identifier information (PII) are in order to mitigate your risk of being an identity theft victim.

For the purposes of our discussion, here are the issues I'd like you to tackle:

What questions would you add to the list above to help identify if an individual may be at risk of identity theft?

What personal recommendations or tips do you have to help individuals protect their identity?

It is estimated that there are approximately 10 - 15 million victims of identity theft in the U.S. annually. Considering that's roughly the population of the City of Chicago, what are some of the major factors that you believe contribute to the high numbers of victims?

Despite all our educational and consumer awareness efforts, why haven't we made more "inroads" in preventing this crime from occurring? Do stiffer sentences and more incarceration time serve as a deterrent?

Have we done enough to prevent this crime from occurring? What preventative actions/measures would really put a dent in the amount of identity theft being committed in the U.S. today?

There is a clear connection between a physical crime (drugs) and a paper crime (identity theft). Meth addicts have regularly been connected to the identity theft epidemic. Why is that? Have we done enough to target the meth user/ID Theft issue and what can we/should we do to thwart that connection?

Where do you believe we should be concentrating our investigative efforts right now and if that's different than what we're currently doing... why? Do you have a better investigative strategy to combat this crime more effectively? Or alternatively, do you think we're being overrun by the ID Theft plague and given our resources, there are no great remedies... no matter how we investigate/try to prevent it?

If you were the ID Theft Prevention Czar for a day, what would YOU do?

These are some questions/comments to get you started on the topic of identity theft. Feel free to include any other thoughts/comments/critical issues you care to discuss on the identity theft issue.