Catch Me If You Can
In the 2002 movie Catch Me If You Can, Leonardo DiCaprio played Frank Abagnale, Jr. who before the age of 18 worked as a doctor, a lawyer, and as a co-pilot for a major airline. Tom Hanks played fictional FBI Agent Carl Hanratty who made it his mission to bring Frank to justice. Abagnale was a master of deception and a brilliant forger. By the age of 21 he had cashed more than 17,000 bad checks across 26 countries, defrauding banks and businesses out of more than $2.5 million dollars (in the 1960’s). Being a conman, there are questions about the truth and extent of his crimes, but the movie is a reminder that there remain those that wake up each day seeking to con, deceive, and steal.
In recent training, I was reminded that the crimes are the same, but the tools being used are different. Frank Abagnale didn’t grow up in a world with the Internet, social media, and online accounts. That’s where we live now, so it’s important to know the risks and the right steps to take. These precautions are a baseline for protecting your identity and money:
• Never use weak passwords and always use Multi-Factor Authentication. Sophisticated algorithms can quickly guess short passwords that use only a few of the available characters. But passwords that are long with 14+ characters and use numbers, upper- and lower-case letters, and symbols are very difficult to crack. If you are still nervous at 14 characters go even longer!
o Most companies now send a text to your phone when you login to their site. This is Multi- Factor Authentication; use it whenever you can along with complicated passwords.
• Never use public charging outlets for your phone. Airports are a great place to steal personal information through charging outlets. Don’t use them or any other public outlets. If you travel often, buy a USB data blocker which protects the information on your phone.
• Always verify a suspicious request or claim. If your information falls into the wrong hands, you could be contacted by someone personating a family member, your banker, a neighbor, even your financial advisor asking for something. Hang up and from a different phone, if possible, call the person or company directly. Many forms of theft still happen this way – don’t panic and call directly. These criminals are preying on your fears, if in doubt, call us. We are happy to walk you through steps to take.
Check your Credit Report every year. You’ve heard this for years so keep doing it. Check your report for credit lines and accounts you don’t recognize and do the same for your kids. Some young adults check their credit for the first time only to realize their identity has been used by someone else.
• Check your Social Media Settings. Be discreet about the information you share on social media, and don’t accept just anyone’s friend or connection request. Also, on your phone, turn off location services for apps that don’t need to know where you are all the time. Many tech companies make a lot of their revenue from sharing our personal information – be discreet.
• Freeze your credit. Freezing your credit keeps anyone, even yourself, from accessing your credit profile. You have to unfreeze it to apply for new credit, but freezing has no impact on your existing credit accounts. I’ve done this myself and am happy to provide more details.
• Watch out for phishy emails. I often get suspicious emails with links or attachments. I delete them immediately, do the same. This is still a common way to access your personal information. In some ways it is fascinating the ways con-artists work their way into private matters. Catch Me If You Can is an entertaining movie about that very thing. But let’s keep this stuff in the movies and be vigilant with our personal information.
Any opinions are those of Landon Vick and not necessarily those of RJFS or Raymond James. The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete; it is not a statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and it does not constitute a recommendation. Raymond James and its advisors do not offer tax or legal advice. You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional. Be sure to contact a qualified professional regarding your particular situation before making any investment or withdrawal decisions.
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