Colonel Kenneth L. Morckel
Superintendent
Ohio State Highway Patrol
In 1992, the U.S. financial community reported approximately 35,000 cases of identity fraud. By 1997, the number had risen to more than 500,000 and was still climbing. The average individual financial loss suffered by an identity crime victim is $20,000 to $30,000. Approximately two-thirds of all identity crimes are either undetected or go unreported, and within the next five years, an estimated one out of every four people will either be a victim of an identity crime, or be related to a victim.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol announced a partnership, in September 1999, with a number of banking, retail, credit card, and other companies aimed at reducing the epidemic of identity and financial fraud spreading across Ohio and the rest of the country.
As part of the Patrol’s partnership efforts, in October 1999, the Patrol produced two brochures, Avoid Identity Crime, and When Identity Crime Strikes You, which were distributed by participating partners to their customers, including: Bank First National, Big Bear, CheckCare Systems, Discover Financial Services, Fifth Third Bank, First National Bank, Kroger, and Meijer. The brochures were also made available on the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Internet website at http://www.state.oh.us/ohiostatepatrol/forms.html#ID. One brochure teaches people how to avoid being a victim of identity theft, and the other outlines what steps to take for identity theft victims.
Today’s identity thieves are information seekers who do not need to steal a wallet or purse to do serious damage. Identity thieves obtain bits of information by sorting through trash for discarded receipts and statements, searching the Internet, spying for PIN numbers at ATM machines or at telephone booths, accessing public records, and even stealing from mailboxes.
Once personal information is obtained, impostors can open fraudulent credit card accounts, secure deposits on houses and cars, create insurance benefits and drain personal financial accounts, including retirement benefits. Due to the wide range of ways identity theft occurs, these partnerships are targeted toward getting information to as many people as possible on how to avoid the problem, or what to do if they become a victim.
Why is the Ohio State Highway Patrol interested in identity theft? Included in the mission of the Patrol is the commitment to investigate criminal activities involving State of Ohio interest. In that capacity, troopers and multi-agency task forces work together with the purpose of detecting and apprehending persons involved in identity fraud through the utilization of state driver licenses and identification cards.
This partnership effort is part of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Partners for Safety initiative that continues to successfully blend statewide corporate partnerships with innovative initiatives at the local level. In Ohio, the Patrol and multi-agency law enforcement task forces have been working together to detect and apprehend those involved in identity fraud through the utilization of state driver licenses and identification cards.
Through the course of this partnership, 250,000 safety messages regarding identity theft were made available to the general public, in addition to those who accessed the information on the Patrol’s Internet website. The opportunity to partner with the high-profile financial institutions and nationally recognized stores proved to be a very successful way to get out the message about identity theft.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is constantly looking to partner with recognizable corporate entities in working toward the safety of the general public. These partnerships exemplify how successfully law enforcement and corporate entities can be at working together to get information to the general public.
Education will be the key to reducing this increasingly pervasive crime. The partnership among the Ohio State Highway Patrol and a number of banking, retail, credit card, and other companies is aimed at reducing the epidemic of identity and financial fraud spreading across Ohio and the rest of the country.