Take proactive measures to prevent identity theft

Published Oct. 9, 2015
By Senior Airman Katrina Heikkinen
434th ARW Public Affairs

GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- According to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh, cyber and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission synergy will continue to be the biggest areas of future Air Force growth.

With that in mind and the amount of massive data breaches headlining the news on a daily basis, Airmen should safeguard personally identifiable information to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft.

"Identity theft is a crime that involves the illegal access and use of an individuals' personal or financial information," said Katina Dimitro, 434th Force Support Squadron Airman and Family Readiness Center personal financial counselor. "It can seriously damage a victim's credit history, result in a financial loss, impact their medical records - and ultimately an Airman's future in the Air Force."

The Office of Personnel Management recently announced that 25.1 million individuals' background investigation records had been stolen, a security breach affecting Department of Defense employees who have received a security clearance investigation since 2000.

Aside from OPM's records data breach, other factors that increase Airmen's risk for identity theft include the nature of mobility in the Air Force.

"Military members are always on the go," Dimitro said. "For Airmen on long deployments away from home, to traditional reservists traveling to and from out of state, to simply using a debit card at multiple locations - anyone is at risk of having their information stolen."

Dimitro provides both one-on-one meetings and group briefings to educate Airmen on steps they can take to prevent identity theft, and in the event an Airman becomes a victim of identity theft, reactive measures.

"The biggest obstacle is that most people don't work preventatively," she said. "They wait until something bad happens and then they come see me. It can be a lot harder to fix financial problems such as fraudulent taxes once they've happened then to prevent them from happening at all."

According to Dimitro, the first proactive step all Airmen should take is to run a credit report, followed by placing a fraud alert on their account.

"Everything that has to do with protecting your identity can be done for free and it can be done with the help of the Airman and Family Readiness Center's personal financial counseling," Dimitro said. "By running a credit report, you increase your ability to become aware of what's going on with your finances, as well as learning if you have been a victim of fraud. Three out of five people I work with see either errors or collection accounts that they were not aware existed. All of the financial services I provide are free, confidential and private."

In addition to running a credit report, Dimitro suggests Airmen place a security/credit freeze through the state attorney general's office - which prevents anyone from opening an account in an individuals' name.

"The best preventative measure is to make sure you're securing your documents," she said. "Make sure you're shredding important documents instead of just throwing them away in the trash. Educate yourself on how to protect yourself - read your medical bills to ensure someone isn't taking your identity; conduct credit reports on your children to safeguard their identity; and don't post public resumes with personally identifiable information that contain your past work and addresses."

Dimitro also provides both advocacy and additional referral sources for Airmen in the event they do become a victim of identity theft, including assisting Airmen with filing a police report.

"Financial considerations are factors in Airmen obtaining and maintaining a security clearance in the Air Force," she said. "Know your resources and utilize the Airman and Family Readiness Center."

For more information or to schedule a financial counseling meeting, contact Dimitro at (765) 688-4812.

The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135 Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command.

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Take proactive measures to prevent identity theft

Public Affairs Staff