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Daily DigestYuck!
 There's a winter storm warning in effect until 7 a.m. on Thursday with 2 to 4 inches of snow expected. Be prepared for a messy morning commute as freezing rain and sleet move through the region. The morning commute will be slippery — drive careful!
Some New York schools, including Hoosick Falls Central School and St. Mary's Academy in Hoosick Falls have already canceled classes.
All North County schools are closed; Pittsfield, Lanesborough, Berkshire Hills, Southern Berkshire and Central Berkshire school districts are closed. |
Duff'em If You've Got'em
 North Adams Regional Hospital went smoke-free Monday — so did all its sister sites, from Sweet Brook to Northern Berkshire Family Practice to the Women's Exchange. No ashtrays, no smoking: No butts about it. |
Wanted: Eagle Eyes
MassWildlife's annual eagle count runs Dec. 31 to Jan. 14. Anyone sighting one of the regal birds in Massachusetts is asked to participate.
Send date, time, location and town of eagle sightings, number of birds, whether juvenile or adult and observer's contact information to Mass.wildlife@state.ma.us. |
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Other StuffMars Rovers Mark 5 Years
 Spirit and Opportunity have been trekking the red planet for half a decade. Spirit hit the 5-year mark on Sunday; Opportunity will on Jan. 24. |
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Clarksburg Woman Wants to Arm Others Against ID TheftBy Jen Thomas - December 07, 2007
 | | Laurie Booth |
CLARKSBURG - Laurie Booth has had her identity stolen three times in the last five years and she doesn't want it to happen to anyone else.
"It's so stressful. Someone has kidnapped my identity and taken it and I can't get it back," said Booth. "There should be a warning for other people and I want to help fix the problem."
Booth, who lost her driver's license in the Berkshire Mall more than 10 years ago, is urging local legislators to take action and put barriers in place that would protect consumers from becoming a victim of identity theft. Armed with little more than a name and a Social Security number, anyone can open an account or a credit card under a fraudulent name, unbeknownst to the victim. It isn't until creditors call, demanding money, that anyone is aware that a crime has occurred.
"No one can find the people who are stealing identities. You just get a call saying 'You owe us this much on this account,'" said Booth, whose license carried her Social Security number, which is no longer used by the state because of identity theft concerns.
Most recently, Booth discovered her identity had been used to open an account with an electric company in a city outside of Miami. In October, she found out she owed more than $4,700 to Florida Power and Lighting Co. for a residence in Opa-Locka, Fla., over a three-month period.
"The police think it might be drug related. How else can you use $4,700 worth of electricity in three months? They were probably using drug lamps and a lot of them to get that bill," Booth said.
While her previous run-in with creditors had originated in Brockton, her two newest incidents came from the Sunshine State. How her information ended up in the south, Booth has no idea.
"I can't explain it," she said, adding that police have told her it is common practice to sell names and Social Security numbers for as little as $50 for use in opening accounts with utility companies.
A Real Problem
After the third time, Booth was sick of going through the difficult process of alerting the three major credit bureaus and local law enforcement, so she decided to do something about it.
After talking to state Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, Booth contacted state Attorney General Martha Coakley's office to get some direction about legislation that may save other people from falling victim to a situation like hers. According to the attorney general's office, new legislation passed this year allows consumers to place a "security freeze" on their credit report so that no new accounts can be opened with their personal information.
However, the process has its flaws.
"If I want to go and open a charge card account, I can't. They have to be able to call me at home and I have to authorize it. But if it's what I have to do to be safe, I'll do it," Booth said.
Utility companies that don't do credit checks exacerbate the problem, said Booth, who conducted an unofficial survey of about 15 utility companies nationwide to see which ones would allow her to open an account, even though her information had been used in identity theft cases more than once. She said every company except one would give her an account with just her name, her Social Security number and an address where she wanted service.
"Why aren't there big red notations, red flags, alerts, a banner that says 'Identity Theft Victim' in big letters on my credit report?" she asked.
Worse still, most companies said they would not check her credit at all if there was no cause for suspicion.
"I can't believe that. How would they know to be suspicious? How do they know I am who I say I am?" Booth said.
Now, Booth is hoping to work with local legislators to develop a program that assigns pin numbers to consumers in addition to Social Security numbers, which are assigned to track benefits for the federal pension program.
Over the years, the numbers became de facto IDs and were frequently used on state driver's licenses. It's a federal crime to misuse someone's number.
"I think, when you turn 18, you should be given a 10-digit pin that only the individual would know. That's my next pursuit," said Booth.
Though she believes a program to implement the use of a second identification number should be nationwide, she thinks her first step is recruiting in her own neighborhood. She's gotten Bosley involved, asking him to push for tougher legislation that would protect state consumers.
"The state laws need to be changed; they obviously aren't working. I don't think I should be inconvenienced because someone else stole my identity," said Booth.
Secondly, Booth has ideas about developing her own Web site, where identity theft victims can share their stories and propose their own solutions.
"I'll ask for their names but not their Social Security numbers," she said.
Avoiding Identity Theft |
Tips from the state attorney general's office
- Don't carry your Social Security card or birth certificate in your wallet or purse. Carry only credit cards you use regularly and cancel all cards you don't use.
- Keep an accurate list of all credit cards and bank accounts.
- Review closely all credit card and bank statements each month to detect unusual activity.
- Destroy preapproved credit card solicitations and reduce their number by calling 1 (888) 5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688), or visit www.optoutprescreen.com.
- Don't give out any personal information unless you are sure with whom you are dealing.
- Update your virus protection and security software regularly.
- Don’t download files from strangers or click on hyperlinks from people you don’t know.
- Avoid using an automatic log-in feature that saves your username and password, and always log off when you’re finished.
For more tips, go to www.mass.gov/Cago/docs/ Consumer/Consumer_IdentityTheft.pdf
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| Thank you Laurie for sharing your story. Its important for people to know how to protect themselves. Good luck with your pursuit of the legislators! | | from: Sharon | on: 12-07-2007 |
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