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Surviving Your Off-Duty Hours

NCJ Number
184518
Journal
Police: The Law Enforcement Magazine Volume: 24 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2000 Pages: 50-52
Author(s)
John Bellah
Editor(s)
Dennis Hall
Date Published
July 2000
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Police officers can take certain steps to limit their vulnerability to identity theft during off-duty hours.
Abstract
Besides inflicting physical harm, an offender may choose from several lower-risk methods of revenge against police officers, to include identity theft. These methods can be very effective in damaging the police officer's credit, life, family, and career. A great deal of information is available in the Internet age, including privileged information such as credit information, criminal histories, and motor vehicle registration and public information such as property records, birth and death certificates, marriage and divorce certificates, civil actions, and other documents. Information that once had to be obtained from court archives is now available to anyone who has Internet access. Identity theft, the theft of another's personal information, is gaining in popularity. Some identity theft cases involve stealing vehicle information and transferring this information to a stolen car. Police officers can take certain steps to protect themselves against identity theft and other forms of crime. They should not carry their badge and police identification in their wallet, their Social Security card should be stored in a safe place, and clothing and equipment that identifies one as a police officer should not be used. In addition, credit cards and bank receipts should be shredded and not placed in trash cans as, "trash surfing" is one way an identity thief obtains his or her information. Credit reports should be reviewed twice yearly and questionable entries should be disputed. Police officers should constantly be concerned with survival both on and off duty. 1 photograph