Lawson: Security Expert Addresses Identity Theft During Speech at Grady

By Lawson Powers

At some point in their life, everyone will be a victim of identity theft, a longtime cybersecurity expert said on Thursday.

But hackers aren't the only ones trying to steal identities, Adam Levin, author of “Swiped: How to Protect Yourself in a World Full of Scammers, Phishers, and Identity Thieves," told a class of journalism students told journalism students at the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

“A big portion of identity theft for kids occurs within the family unit," Levin said. "Parents steal their children’s identities, kids have stolen their parent’s identities and brothers have stolen their sister's identities.”

Levin used a personal anecdote to elaborate.

“I have an aunt that actually took bankruptcy rather than turn in her son, who stole her identity and used it to run up $50,000 worth of bills she couldn’t pay,” Levin said.

Levin suggested that parents should freeze their childrens' credit at an early age so that an identity thief can’t ruin their credit.

But for children in foster care, the issue is a bit more complicated.

“Ten percent of all foster kids in America are victims of child identity theft. Why?” Levin said. “Because their information is on cards, those cards are passed from foster family to foster family and there are people in those families that create the problem.”

The personal information of these children can be carelessly handled.

However, companies like Facebook or Equifax, who harvest the personal information of millions of people, are even more harmful.

“We are where we are because of bad cyber hygiene,” Levine said. “How do you minimize your risk of exposure, how do you monitor and how do you manage the damage?”

Minimizing means reducing your attackable surface. Levin suggests using a password manager as well as constantly monitoring or freezing credit. As far as managing the damage, there are companies that can help you get your identity back in the event that it is stolen. 

Levin thinks that a more permanent solution to identity theft lies in the way consumers handle their personal information and devices, starting with the perception of usage and risk.

“Our technology makes us powerful, but it also makes us vulnerable,” Levin said.