Arianna BennettChannel 2 News
Local law enforcement is getting some new weapons for its arsenal in its battle against identity theft.
"We've noticed that the suspects, as technology increases, have become more sophisticated. So the advanced course is really to teach investigators how to keep up with criminals who are using advanced technologies," says Justin Feffer.
One technological way criminals can stealing information is with a skimming device, that can be installed in cash registers, gas pumps, or even ATM's.
That's what happened at a bank ATM on Oddie Boulevard this weekend - a criminal installed a skimmer, so that whenever someone swiped their card, it saved their personal information.
Law enforcement also learned how criminals can access your information through public wi-fi networks, or even dumpster diving.
Officials say an identity is one of the most profitable things for a criminal to steal because once they have it, they can use it forever or they can sell it to someone else. "Your information, your Social Security number, your bank account number, your credit card numbers, those are all valuable things that thieves are trying to steal from you.
There are a few pretty easy ways to try to avoid identity theft - stay away from sites that have personal information on them when you're on a public wi-fi network. And they also say to just keep track of your bank balance and your credit score.
