Catch Me If You Can

Cyber security and credit protection advice from the real Frank Abagale

The man who inspired the Stephen Spielberg billion-dollar blockbuster movie, played by Leonardo Di Caprio, who worked for the FBI for 40 years advising governments and corporations on cyber security recently gave a talk at Google.

His advice on how to protect yourself against cyber crime might surprise you and even scare you.

In case you haven’t seen the movie, it tells the story of how a 16-year-old boy managed to con his way onto airlines and fly free all over the world posing as a pilot. He also defrauded banks out of millions of dollars through cheque fraud and worked as a hospital doctor and a lawyer despite leaving school at 16 never having studied medicine or law at university.

He was eventually caught in France and spent years in French and Swedish prisons before being extradited back to America where he spent four years of a 12 year sentence in a federal prison for his crimes.He was given a ‘get out of jail’ card when asked by the FBI to join the fraud team (the only person ever to have been asked) where he has had a glittering career.

Technology breeds crime

Answering an audience question, Franks said that today it is far easier to commit fraud and steal from banks, companies and people through cyber-crime.

However, he added that nearly all security breaches are caused by people either not following procedures or committing crimes from the inside.

Millions of people are victims of fraud, such as identity theft, phishing and card cloning.

Here are two of Franks’s top tips to protect yourself.

1. Never use a debit card. Frank only uses credit cards, which are safer and easier to replace if it has to be cancelled due to fraudulent use. If someone gets hold of your debit card details they can wipe out the contents of your bank account because they are an extension of that account.

This is a useful tip for building a strong credit rating because as long as you pay the balance off each month your credit rating will go up.

He also gave his children credit cards, rather than debit cards, when I went to college, but control the limits and spending as he was the guarantor. This had the added advantage that his children were able to build up a credit rating during the college years which enabled them to obtain a mortgage purchase a house much earlier.

2. Monitor your credit rating on a monthly basis.

There are a number of companies which offer the service and he suggests using a company where you can login and monitor your own credit rating with the various credit reference agencies. That way, you can see in real time whether someone has used his details or searched his credit details.

This is great advice from the man who sent it all from both sides and virtually wrote the book on the subject.

Nowadays, so many things are connected to credit history. It used to be only important when you applied for a loan or mortgage. Now, every time you open an account, apply for insurance, utilities, mobile phone contract, renting a property and even applying for some jobs your credit history is checked. There are number of ways you can protect and build your credit rating which require very little effort. The important thing is to stay on top of it.

Here are my top 7 tips for protecting your credit rating:

1. Protect your credit rating with your life, because so much of your life depends on your credit rating! This is serious stuff, so don’t play around with it.
2. Check your credit rating regularly and protect it by never allowing your rating to be compromised by not paying a bill or defaulting on a credit card, which can stay on your record for up to six years. To check your credit file and obtain a credit rating you can apply to one of the main credit reference agencies in your country. In the UK the big three are www.Experian.co.uk, www.Equifax.co.uk and www.Call Credit.co.uk, which can supply a free report or charge a small fee. You can pay a monthly subscription for ongoing reports, but just try a free or basic report to start with. You can also obtain a combined report covering all three credit agencies, which will often hold different information on you depending on which company reports activity.

Check your credit file at least once a year, as errors will affect your ability to obtain credit, take out a mortgage or mobile phone contract or open a bank account.

If you discover something on your file which should not be there, like a County Court Judgement (CCJ) or a Default on a credit agreement or utility bill you can dispute it with the company or go to the Financial Ombudsman or Citizens Advice. Companies also report late payments to the credit agencies, which means you could be refused a mortgage even though you have never defaulted on a bill or been taken to court. For instance, if your credit card bill is due on 20^th of each month and you manually pay it over the counter at your bank each month on 19^th, you are technically late, as it takes several days for your payment to reach the card company.

You can ask the court to set aside judgements where you have a case or were not informed about the legal action. Take legal advice.

3. Pay bills and creditors on time. You will also be reported for paying utility bills late. Some mortgage lenders have been known to decline a mortgage application just because the person had a late payment in the last 3 years
4. Watch those searches. Credit searches are recorded and leave a ‘footprint’ when you apply for credit, utilities etc, in some cases even when you do not proceed with the transaction.
5. Pay up when you lose a county court case and live to fight another day. If you are involved in a legal dispute in the County Court and lose you have less than a month in which to settle the debt awarded to the other side by the judge, otherwise the debt will appear on your credit file as a CCJ for six years even if you pay by instalments or later clear the amount outstanding. If you later pay off a debt months or years down the line you can have it recorded on your file as “satisfied”, but CCJ will still show up for six years.
6. Pay bills by direct debit or standing order to avoid missing a payment, which will appear on your credit file.
7. If you are in dispute over a small debt or utility bill always pay it and argue about it afterwards. If you refuse to pay, the company may issue a Default against you, which they can do without going to court. The Default could stay on your record even if you are later proved to be in the right. In my days working in banks and financial services I have met countless people who allowed their credit rating to be messed up over a £50 water bill. The water companies were particularly aggressive in going after debtors.

Avoid ‘voluntary arrangements and bankruptcy if at all possible as they will also blight your record

Bonus Tip

Finally, be honest and trustworthy.

The world revolves around trust and reputation, so be straight and pay back what you owe ON TIME. If you can’t, inform people instead of burying your head in the sand.

Almost everyone will need to borrow during their lifetime, especially home buyers and entrepreneurs.

Protect your credit rating with your life, because so much of your life depends on your credit rating!