Hundreds of dollars to an online gaming company. A $4 fast food tab. A few pennies here or there for who knows what.
Kathryn Broderick, 28, of Lincoln Park, doesn't have weird spending habits, but the thieves that have gained access to her identity sometimes do. Over the past two years, Broderick has been issued about five new credit and debit cards because of data breaches-a term that refers to private information being lost or stolen by a company-at stores where she has shopped, and had false charges on her accounts a handful of times, too.
"It has happened so many times at this point, it doesn't even phase me anymore," she said.
She caught the false charges-which included a cheap trip to McDonald's and about $300 on an online video game-by checking her statements regularly and quickly reporting them to credit companies.
"It's scary," she said. "It's not just the credit cards. Those charges can get fixed. But if (thieves) know your address or your PIN numbers, it can spiral out of control without you knowing it."
Broderick is hardly alone as data breaches and identity theft continue to soar. More than 56 million customers at Home Depot had their information stolen in a breach by hackers, announced Sept. 8, eclipsing the previous record of 40 million compromised customer accounts during a data breach at Target last year.
In 2013, according to the Illinois attorney general's office, there was a 1,600 percent increase in complaints specifically for data breaches, as well as a jump in complaints about identity theft. In all, according to the attorney general, $21 billion was stolen from consumers' bank and credit accounts in 2013.
"It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when," said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. "I would be surprised if there is anyone out there at this point that hasn't had to get a new credit card or debit card at this point."
Madigan said identity theft is second only to consumer debt when it comes to complaints to her office, which has a dedicated unit to handle the crime. In the simplest terms, identity theft is when someone steals personal information from someone else for financial gain.
Data breaches, Madigan explained, are also becoming more common. They range from high- to low-tech. In some cases, a data breach can be a lost file cabinet or briefcase of personal information from a small business. In other cases-like Home Depot-it can be a sophisticated set of software from hackers used to obtain customer data.
"It's rampant at this point," she said.
A recent survey by Experian ProtectMyID-a personal identity monitoring service-found that 54 percent of Chicago residents report either having their identity stolen or knowing someone who has. It's an industry, according to Becky Frost, the senior manager of education for the company.
"In this day and age, identity theft is a business to some," she said. "Your data is a commodity."
Thieves who possess stolen personal data can either use it to purchase goods or services themselves, or turn around and sell it for profit, according to Frost. She said current estimates for what data goes for on the black market vary, but can be anywhere between $5 and $30, based on how much information a thief might have on a single individual.
"I will never encourage a consumer to be worried, but I will encourage them to be vigilant," she said.
Keeping a watchful eye on every single credit account is the most important thing an individual can do in order to catch identity theft before it gets out of control, said Steve Bernas, president and CEO of the Illinois Better Business Bureau.
"The faster you get to it, the better," he said. "There's no real protection. You have to be vigilant, that's the only thing."
Waiting too long can hurt a consumer's credit score, making it hard if not impossible for them to purchase a home, a car or open more lines of credit.
Bernas said he encourages everyone to get a free credit report from annualcreditreport.com. They should look for credit cards they didn't open, and any charges that seem out of the ordinary. He also said consumers should check their credit card and bank statements regularly. If there's anything that looks off, it should be reported, no matter how insignificant.
In Broderick's case of having charges of a few pennies on her accounts, Bernas said it's common for thieves to make very small charges in order to test whether the card is still active.
Bernas also said consumers should be wary of strange phone calls they receive. He said his office constantly receives complaints about phone or email scams in which a thief will pretend to be a utility company, the Internal Revenue Service or lottery in order to gain someone's information.
Broderick said she has been able to avoid negative effects to her credit score by quickly reporting any payments she knows are false. However, between the fraudulent charges and regularly being issued new cards because of breaches, she has become even more careful.
"Go and check all of your accounts," she said. "Make sure everything is the way it is supposed to be. When it's a charge like McDonald's, you might not notice it."
Tips for catching identity theft
With large data breaches and clever scammers increasingly preying on our bank accounts, Illinois Better Business Bureau President and CEO Steve Bernas says there's no real way to prevent identity theft. There are ways to make yourself less of a target, however, and some tricks to catch identity theft before it really does damage to your credit. Here are five things you can do to protect yourself:
>>>Question the other end of the line
If you get a call from someone who says they are with the IRS, utility company or anyone else trying to collect money, question it. Bernas said the BBB's website has a database of scams you can check to see if that collection call is legit.
>>>Check that credit
Bernas said getting a copy of your credit report from annualcreditreport.com-the only site endorsed by the federal government for credit monitoring-is key to catching thieves early. The report will spell out what credit accounts have been opened in your name. If something doesn't look right, call the credit card company immediately. In many cases, thieves will open accounts and have statements sent to a bogus address, leaving you completely unaware an account had been opened in your name.
>>>It's not just $$
Identity thieves aren't always after your wallet. It's possible for thieves to also steal your medical identity, allowing them to use your insurance for all sorts of doctor's visits. Check your medical statements and make sure nothing looks out of the ordinary.
>>>Change that password
You should never use the same password for all websites, especially ones that have your financial information contained in them. Passwords should be changed often, once a month if possible, and be difficult to guess. "Password123" doesn't cut it anymore.
>>>Common sense
Thieves can be crafty. In some cases, it's even been reported that they will set up bogus
Wi-Fi networks near busy hotels or businesses and snatch personal information of anyone who logs on. Stay vigilant, Bernas says, and use common sense when using the Internet.