Two years ago I wrote a column about the issue of identity theft.
It concerned how unsecured residential mailboxes are a common target of identity thieves, who can and regularly do steal credit card and bank account information from them.
The topic came back to mind recently when I received a friendly brochure in my mailbox from the Postal Service, outlining tips on what its customers can do to protect themselves against identity theft. The helpful suggestions included:
• Review your consumer credit reports annually.
• Shred and destroy unwanted documents that contain personal information.
• Deposit mail in U.S. Postal Service collection boxes.
• Don’t leave mail in your mailbox overnight or on weekends.
Imagine my surprise when a few weeks later, I opened my mailbox and found an envelope created by the Postal Service to encourage customers to order stamps through their postal carrier, saving you from standing in line at the local post office. In that envelope customers are instructed to enclose payment — via money order, or personal check.
If that’s not a mixed message, I don’t know what is.
Granted, since I write my column two years ago, some progress has been made in reducing identity theft. According to the most recent survey on the issue, conducted by Javelin Strategy &Research Survey in February 2007, the number of U.S. adult victims of identity fraud decreased from 10.1 million in 2003 and 9.3 million in 2005 to 8.4 million in 2007. The total one year fraud amount decreased from $55.7 billion in 2006 to $49.3 billion in 2007.
But most of that progress would seem to be the result of increased consumer awareness on the topic, rather than any action taken by the credit card industry or the Postal Service, whose policies have made identity theft so easy.
Even the U.S. Department of Justice has criticized the credit card industry for its lack of information and action on the problem, saying “Although some credit card companies publish information concerning their costs from lost or stolen cards and ‘card not present’ losses, they do not report their financial losses concerning other aspects of identity theft, such as the cost of investigating cases, or the cost effectiveness of introducing new security procedures versus taking the losses.” The DOJ goes on to say that “a serious lack of data on these issues inhibits research into possible intervention strategies that could reduce the harm.”
While it certainly is my responsibility to monitor my credit report and heed the other suggestions the Postal Service offered to protect myself, there is really only so much that I personally am able to do. As long as the credit card companies insist on mailing credit cards to my mailbox, as long as the Postal Service makes contradictory policy, identity thieves will continue to cash in.
Andrea Miller is Enterprise features editor.
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