An event being held in Atlantic this (Tuesday) evening is designed to help you keep your private information, private. The event is being sponsored by the Nishna Valley Credit Union for its members and the general public, at no charge. Jeff Nelson, with the NVCU, says the guest speaker is a nationally certified identity theft management specialist, and a consultant to more than 200 companies in terms of employee security. Nelson says identity theft doesn’t just affect those who are online much of the time, or to those who own credit cards. It can happen in many different ways. He says 46% of identity theft comes back to your driver’s license. Once a thief gets a hold of that information, they have access to many additional forms of information. 

Identity theft can also come in the form of fraudulent tax returns. Nelson says he’s heard unconfirmed reports of a tax return scam that affected a couple of different individuals. The incidents reportedly involved someone filing a bogus tax return before the taxpayer filed their real tax return, and the refund was sent to the scammer. The result is much time and money will be spent clearing up the matter with the Feds. 

The program being held in Atlantic this evening is the only one of its kind in the nation, which has licensed investigators, who handle incidents of identity theft for you, and work to with authorities and creditors to clear your name, if you are the target of the crime. Tonight’s seminar will include stories about identity theft from the victims’ perspective, and representatives with the Atlantic Police Department, who will speak about local incidents of identity theft, including a computer hacking incident which occurred last year at the Nishna Valley Family YMCA, and how that affected some local residents’ financial transactions. Nelson said identity theft doesn’t just affect adults. It can affect children as well, when they apply for their first jobs or through other means. Tonight’s meeting takes place at the Atlantic 4-H/Community Center, beginning at 6:30-p.m. Refreshments will be provided.