ID Theft Wariness Varies By Region

Residents of Hawaii appear to be more prepared for identity theft problems this summer than residents of northern New England.

About 70 percent of Hawaii residents have some concern about identity theft happening to them while they travel or visit retail locations this summer — while more than 85 percent are taking one or more precautions to prevent or minimize the effects of identity theft, according to a recent survey by AAA.

Meanwhile, more than half of Northern New England residents — residents of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont — have little or no concern about identity theft happening to them this summer. And 29 percent of them plan to take no precautions to protect themselves from identity theft, according to the AAA survey.

The AAA survey included more than 2,300 respondents across the country. More detailed responses by state or area of the country have been publicly reported only for Hawaii — by Earthtimes.org — and northern New England residents — by Foster’s Daily Democrat of Dover, N.H.

AAA recommends that all people should take steps to protect themselves against identity theft, especially during summer travel, when people can be especially susceptible to the crime.

AAA recommends that people: remove all unneeded credit and debit cards from their wallet prior to traveling; that they photocopy their driver’s license or passport and bring that copy in their luggage in case their wallet is stolen; and that they contact their credit card companies to alert them when and where they will be traveling. AAA also recommends that people check their bank and credit card activity online during their trip — as long as they do it with a secure online connection — to help them spot any unauthorized activity.