Rob Graham is missing work because he’s at his new job: working to get his stolen identity back.
Rob’s identity was stolen when his Washington State Driver’s License was duplicated thru the Department of Licensing website. Since then, he’s seen nine attempts to open bank accounts, obtain debit cards and has had about $20,000 in fraudulent charges.
Jesse Jones asked Christine Anthony from the Department of Licensing about what information you need to get someone’s Driver’s License number. The answer may surprise you: only your full name, address, and Social Security number. Type that in and your Driver’s License number can be sent to an unverified email address. In Rob’s case, the scammer made up a fake email using Rob’s name.
So, how easy is it to access your Social Security Number online? “It is depressingly easy,” says Tim Helming of Domaintools, a computer security company. It took Tim less than a day to find his. He found it on a site with an entire database of personally identifiable and health information, including SSNs and DOBs. Three thousand records were all stolen from a New York dentistry office. Tim says these forums selling personal information are not all that hard to find on the dark web.
For now, Rob has more unfinished business. With a scammer armed with both his Driver’s License and Social Security numbers – he is scrambling to save his money and credit while losing time trying to set things straight.
The question remains - will the DOL improve its security? Maybe says Christine Anthony, “Any time something like this happens that does cause us to go back and look at our system to see if, you know, we can be more secure in some way.”
The DOL says if this happens to you, contact the Driver and Vehicle Investigation Unit. And, of course, you’ll need to lock down your online accounts.
Report Driver’s License Number Theft:
Driver and Vehicle Investigations Unit
Email- fraud@dol.wa.gov
Phone: 360.902.3915
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