Identity thieves try to harvest Social Security numbers

When a man claiming to be a representative of Medicare asked Richard Barnes, 81, about his health, the Shelbyville resident didn't think much about it. He answered the questions, but began to grow suspicious. When the caller asked for his Medicare ID number, Richard's wife, Edna, called Medicare on her cell phone.

"That's your Social Security number," she said. "He kept insisting and insisting we give him the number."

Once she got in contact with Medicare, however, their suspicions were confirmed.

"They said Medicare does not solicit by phone or door-to-door," said Edna. "He was just trying to get my husband's Social Security number."

Phone scams are hardly news, but they are persistent, and tend to follow patterns.

"A couple of weeks ago I did talk to a friend of mine, she lives in the county and got one of those calls," said Deputy Chief Mike Rogers of the Shelbyville Police Department. "It was one of those scams where they wanted to wire some money. It wasn't a real large amount of money, so she was almost willing to do it ..."

Rogers talked to the county law enforcement officers and found out they'd had quite a few" of the calls reported.

"Because they're lowering the amount of money, more people might be willing to do it," said Rogers.

His advice -- don't do it. Things that seem too good to be true often are.

"Never ever give out any kind of personal information like Social Security numbers," said Rogers. "Basically, just assume if it's legitimately Medicare, they would contact you by mail."

Rogers said if someone does call and try to get your personal information and they are persistent and keep calling back, notify the police.

"Maybe we can handle it from there," he said.

According to the Social Security Administration: "Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America. A dishonest person who has your Social Security number can use it to get other personal information about you. Identity thieves can use your number and your good credit to apply for more credit in your name. Then, they use the credit cards and do not pay the bills. You may not find out that someone is using your number until you are turned down for credit or you begin to get calls from unknown creditors demanding payment for items you never bought."

Some of the way your number can be "stolen" include:

* Stealing wallets, purses and your mail (bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, new checks and tax information);

* Stealing personal information you provide to an unsecured site on the Internet, from business or personnel records at work and personal infor­mation in your home;

* Rummaging through your trash, the trash of businesses and public trash dumps for personal data;

* Posing by phone or E-mail as someone who legitimately needs information about you, such as employers or landlords; or

* Buying personal information from "inside" sources. For example, an identity thief may pay a store employee for information about you that appears on an application for goods, services or credit.

For more information

If you think your Social Security number is being used by someone else, or for more information about identity theft, visit www.ssa.gov/pubs/10064.html#steal or contact your local Social Security office.