The frightening truth about identity theft.

Let me paint you a picture.  You’re sitting at Starbucks and pull up your laptop and log in with their Wi-Fi to check email.  BOOM!  Your bank account information was just stolen.

Or you get a few credit card offers and other junk mail you don’t want so you rip it in half and throw it in the trash.  POW!  Someone just took out 5 credit cards in your name and maxed them.

Even scarier, you just go to your local store and buy a pair of jeans.  SHAZAM!  Just by that act, they record sensitive financial information in their database – your name, address, credit card numbers, and anything else they can gather, which is easy pickings for hackers. 

In fact, identity theft and crimes of financial and data theft are more prevalent than ever in the United States, where approximately 15 million people have their identities used fraudulently each year.  The bill on that theft is upwards of $50 billion dollars every year.  That’s three times more than the combined $14 billion in losses from all other types of consumer theft (burglary, motor vehicle theft, property theft, etc.) combined.  It takes a lot of time and often money to clear up the mess identity thieves leave behind.  Their credit report and score will be compromised, which can set off a domino effect of raising interest rates and even insurance premiums.  Debt collectors start calling and sending mail, or even taking them to court.  Some people get lucky and they’re able to clear their good name in a few weeks, but for others it becomes a nightmare that lasts years.

Just last year, more than 16 million people saw their identities compromised or stolen, which equals an astounding 7% of all adults in the U.S.A.  The financial toll to those people is high.  On average, each identity theft victim suffers direct losses of $9,650, up from just $3,500 a few years ago. 

Of course we have to be careful of where we log in, how we store and use our passwords and financial information, and even how we discard our mail, but what’s truly frightening is that we put ourselves at risk just by being consumers.  Stores and businesses are in the practice of data mining, or collecting every shred of information on their customers and the public, used for marketing purposes and to anticipate and control buying behaviors.  And we’re not even talking about governmental databases yet.  But these massive databases of your information are rich targets for hackers and thieves from all over the world.  About 100 million Americans have their personal information put at risk of identity theft each year from government or corporate databases. 

Unfortunately, the bad guys are pretty smart and technologically savvy these days Identity thieves used to dumpster dive for your mail, but now they have elaborate phishing and vishing computer scams.   They used to pickpocket your wallet, now they set up elaborate networks of botnets and malware that hijack your computer without being detected.  They used to set up phony call centers, now they hack right into those corporate and government databases that hold hundreds of millions of consumers’ personal and financial information. 

These days, they’re not just after your credit cards and bank accounts – identity theft has expanded to fraud involving cell phone service, cable TV, your power, gas, and water utilities, internet payment services, mortgages, medical insurance, auto financing, and government benefits.  There’s even a growing trend of thieves using your identity to obtain employment (and then stealing from the inside,) and evading arrest using your identity as a cover. 

So the big question is: who is there to protect you?  If you’re counting on bank and corporate protocols to keep your data secure, you might be sadly disappointed.  Only about 45% of data theft was discovered by financial institutions, who notified their compromised consumers.  If their information was used to open new, fraudulent accounts, the financial institution sounded the alarm only 15% of the time.   21% of victims were alerted to the malfeasance when an outside company or agency reach out, and 13% found out when they received unpaid bills in the mail.  

Once identity theft occurs, it’s difficult to trace the source of the leak.  Only 32% of identity theft victims ever find out how and where their information was stolen. 

What can consumers do to protect themselves? 

They should check their own credit reports at least three times a year, when consumers are entitled to free annual copies of their credit reports from the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

They should use secure wifi when pulling up sensitive information online, use online security measures and strong passwords.

Shredding mail before you throw it away, and verify every email and phone call before you offering any information. 

But the best way to protect yourself is to use a great credit report monitoring and protection service, like those offered by Blue Water Credit.

Sacramento crime and neighborhood safety by the numbers.

We like to feel safe.  It’s one of humankind's most primal urges, especially if we are raising a family or making a big investment by purchasing a home.  But how can we really tell if a neighborhood is safe?  We can talk to our neighbors, or pay attention to the headlines in the newspaper, but is that really the kind of empirical evidence you need to find out how safe our community really is? 

At Blue Water Credit, we live, work, and raise our families in the same communities that you do.  We understand that for all of us to feel safe in greater Sacramento, it takes not only the effort of the police force and sheriffs department, but the vigilance and caring of every individual.  To be of assistance, we’ve compiled some accurate data on crime, safety reports, and resources for you to do your due diligence as a considered citizen. 

First off, let's look at a report that sets a crime index for each city in the country from 1-100.  Sacramento received only a 9, meaning it is safer than only 9% of the cities in the U.S.

In terms of violent crime, the national median is 3.9 instances per 1,000.  California is at 4.11 and Sacramento comes in at 7.18, meaning you have a 1 in 139 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime in Sacramento.

With property crime, the national median is 29.1, California 25.84, and Sacramento at 43.21, giving you a 1 in 23 chance you'll be the victim of a property crime in Sacramento.

What about the density of crime per square mile?  The national median is 39.6, California 85, and Sacramento a whopping 238 crimes per square mile!

Of course all these numbers need to be placed in context of if things are getting better or worse.  We see that crime has risen 83.22% since 1990, but declined 13.92 % in the last 5 years.  However in the last 12 months, a concerning number.  

To look at the appreciation rates of crime over a one year period (from May 2012 to May 2013) in Sacramento, we see that Motor Vehicle Theft, Larceny, Aggravated Assault, and Rape have gone down, while Homicide, Robbery, and Burglary have increased.  

Another study puts Sacramento's violent crime rates at 4.33 per 1,000 for assault, 2.48 for robbery, and .029 for rape, while the national average is 2.41, 1.14, and .27 per 1,000, respectively.

The same report on property crimes states that in Sacramento, motor vehicle thefts are at 9.22 per 1,000, theft 25.09, and burglary 8.90, while the national averages are 2.3, 19.77, and 7.02, respectively

Here's another quick snapshot of violent and property crime that compares Sacramento, Sacramento County, and California statistics.

But what about our individual neighborhoods?   There are some detailed crime mapping services available online, like SpotCrime.com and CrimeReports.com  They utilize Google Maps cross referenced with crime reports to deliver maps neighborhood safety and crime hotspots.  This is one that shows the clusters of crime in the city.

Here is a more detailed crime mapping report per instance, courtesy of the SacPD.com/crime/beats.com, and you can also go to Sacbee.com.crimemapper.com to research your individual neighborhoods.

In summary?  It looks like we have some work to do in order to keep our city safer.  Certainly awareness is the first step, and then getting involved with neighborhood watch groups, communication with the local police and politicians, common sense initiatives (like not leaving valuables in plain sight in your car,) becoming friendly with your neighbors, and coming together as a community.

Look for part 2 of this article coming soon, where we break down the safest neighborhoods in Sacramento.

Please contact Blue Water Credit if you'd like more information or need some help.