As identity thieves become more sophisticated, police work to keep pace

WEST VALLEY CITY — In difficult economic times, identity thieves continue to thrive, stealing billions of dollars from Americans each year.

And as fraudsters improve their methods, police are working to keep up.

"There are more and more ways to exploit people," said West Valley City Police Lt. Matt Elson, one of about 100 law enforcement members who attended a training session Thursday on identity theft protection, held in the Cultural Celebration Center. "It's the same criminal behavior, with better technology." The seminar was sponsored by LifeLock, an Arizona company.

As a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Carol Frederick has broken up massive mail fraud rings, staked out credit card scammers and even busted a man who was selling homes he did not own.

But many of these scams are primitive compared to schemes police must now face, Frederick said.

Burglars and Dumpster-divers are still a threat to personal information, said Tami Nealy, a spokeswoman for LifeLock. But now thieves often use more high-tech and effective methods, such as e-mail scams, peer-to-peer file sharing programs that open computers up to attack and credit card skimmers that are small enough to fit in a waiter's apron and can hold information from thousands of cards.

At Thursday's training session, Frederick showed officers how easy it is to remove ink from a check or to use a skimmer to steal personal information.

Frederick also warned officers to keep a lookout for medical identity theft. The practice of using a stolen identity to procure prescriptions and other medical treatment is on the rise nationwide, she said.

"With our employment situation, people have lost benefits," Frederick said. "People with benefits need to protect themselves."

More than 1 million people fall victim to medical identity theft every year, she said, costing them tens of thousands of dollars.

What's more, she said, medical identity theft could affect records, creating a potential health risk for the victim.

Common sense efforts are still the best way to protect personal information, Frederick said. She cautioned against advertisements for free medical screenings that require Medicaid or other personal information. Frederick also said sensitive documents should be shredded, and medical bills should always be carefully read to make sure the claims match the treatment received.

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