In this talk-show segment, personal security expert Robert Siciliano shares five practical strategies to protect against identity theft as the holiday shopping season approaches. He advises locking mailboxes and obsessively shredding any documents containing personal information, warns against giving out Social Security numbers for instant credit offers, explains the importance of the HTTPS indicator for secure online transactions, and compares credit freezes with credit flagging as tools for controlling new account openings. The hosts also discuss the necessity of regularly monitoring bank and credit‑card statements online. Victims Jennifer Reiner and Nicole Robinson recount their experiences of being stolen from—Reiner by a former friend who accessed her mailbox, Robinson by a repeat offender using her SSN—highlighting the limited legal repercussions for white‑collar identity‑theft crimes and underscoring the need for individuals to take proactive security measures.
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Okay, so we're continuing to talk about identity theft, and we're back with victims, two people who have been ripped off. Jennifer Reiner was ripped off by her best friend, and Nicole Robinson was ripped off by another Nicole Robinson.
They are survivors for sure. Also with us, personal security expert Robert Siciliano with 5 tips to guard against identity theft as we go into the holiday season here. So number 1 is perfect for Jen. Her friend got into her mailbox and got her bills.
Yeah, nowadays I think it's absolutely essential, you know, seeing how big this problem is and how susceptible we are. The mail that comes in your mailbox— think about what comes in your mailbox every single day, you know, those American Express gift checks and so on. Locking your mailbox will prevent somebody from stealing that information and going in cashing those checks. So get a locking mailbox, number one.
And you're a big believer in shredding.
Oh, shred documents, shred everything. Become obsessive about shredding. If it's got your name, any type of account information, even a prescription bottle that has your name and address on it, you want to destroy destroy everything with your information on it.
You know, I was in Radio Shack the other day and they said, "Well, you want to open up an instant credit account here at Radio Shack?" "No, no, I already have a credit card." You'll hear that almost every store.
Right.
Want instant credit?
Right. Instant credit means instant identity theft. You are giving all of your information to a clerk that could potentially take that and open up new accounts under your name. Don't give out your Social Security number for instant credit ever.
Okay, also very important letters: HTTPS.
Right.
What's the significance of those letters?
Black Friday's coming up, day after Thanksgiving. You're ordering all kinds of stuff over the internet for Christmas. The address bar, HTTP, when there's an S, that means it is a secure page and you can enter your credit card information in there and you don't have as much to worry about.
That's what the S stands for, security?
Correct.
You don't have as much to worry about.
Correct.
You still— This is not a bona fide, it's never going to happen to you guarantee.
Exactly. You can take all these different prevention measures, but you still have to pay close attention to your credit.
Okay, we've gone through 3.
And are you following all three of those now in your life?
Uh, pretty much.
Come on, lock up that mailbox. Nicole, how about you? You're pretty on line with these?
The thing about me is that I always followed those.
Okay.
And I still became a victim. Yeah.
I know, just what Robert's saying.
What's a freeze alert?
Well, a freeze alert is when you go to the credit bureaus and you freeze your credit so that nobody can open up accounts under your name. And it also means that you can't open up accounts under your name until you thaw it. Flagging is actually a better option. It gives you access to your credit, and the companies that flag your credit will contact you, uh, in— or the merchants will contact you, and they'll actually verify that you are you opening up this account under your name.
I have this Merrill Lynch account where I keep my most of my funds.
In fact, your Merrill Lynch guy is sitting in the audience right now, but you're not going to get any deals.
You know what he got me doing is checking my accounts every day online, and that has really helped me.
Right.
As far as security.
Well, you actually have to check. You should be checking your statements very carefully every single month, and I check my credit card statements at least once a week.
Do you guys all check your statements? You get your, you know, your Bank of America statements and you all— you do? Are you just thinking with the cameras on you?
I'm telling you, the easiest way is online.
I do.
Just do it online. Jan, are you doing that?
Yes, I do. Absolutely.
Nicole?
Yes, but I want to add one thing about the flags. My credit report is currently flagged and I received a phone call last month about somebody trying to open a cable account in Texas using my Social Security number.
You're kidding me. The woman in Texas is back?
It seems so.
It's Nicole Robinson in Texas is at it again.
Wait, wait, so what's happened to this woman?
Um, nothing right now. She is serving probation. She pled guilty to two counts of using my identity, but she was let go. She did not spend a day in jail on my charges.
And how about your best friend? Any jail time?
No, she was a first-time offender, and these are white-collar crimes, so the police are like, save the jails for the predators who we need to keep off the streets to keep us safe.
You agree, Robert Siciliano?
Yeah, unfortunately the punishment definitely does not fit the crime, and it's gonna kinda continue like that. Law enforcement is completely overwhelmed. They don't even know what to do.
So the onus is on us to just keep monitor our accounts very, very carefully.
Yes, invest in services that will work to protect you.
Gotta protect yourself. And Jan and Nicole, thank you so much for helping us do that.
Thank you.
Robert Siciliano. For more information on identity theft, what should we do?
