Identity Theft Risk Assessment & Prevention Flashcards

Which scenario BEST illustrates child identity theft going undetected for an extended period?

Answer: A child is denied a student loan at age 18 due to a damaged credit history they never created

Child identity theft is often discovered only when the child reaches adulthood and applies for credit, revealing years of fraudulent accounts built on their SSN.

When a CIPA advisor reviews a client's risk from dark web exposure, what is the MOST actionable first step?

Answer: Run a dark web scan and change passwords for any accounts with exposed credentials

Identifying which specific credentials were exposed and immediately rotating those passwords prevents criminals from exploiting the leaked data.

Which risk mitigation strategy is MOST effective for preventing account takeover on financial institution accounts?

Answer: Using an authenticator app for multi-factor authentication instead of SMS

Authenticator app-based MFA is resistant to SIM swapping and SMS interception, making it significantly stronger than SMS-based two-factor authentication.

A CIPA candidate is reviewing a client's EOB (Explanation of Benefits) statement for signs of medical identity theft. Which finding is a RED FLAG?

Answer: Claims for services at a provider in a city where the client has never received treatment

Services billed from an unknown geographic location are a clear indicator that someone else used the client's insurance information to receive care.

Which federal law grants consumers the right to obtain one free credit report from each major bureau annually and dispute inaccurate information?

Answer: The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)

FACTA, an amendment to the FCRA, established the free annual credit report right and added provisions specifically addressing identity theft protection and dispute processes.

A client who owns rental properties asks about risks specific to their situation. Which identity theft risk is MOST elevated for landlords?

Answer: The landlord's address appearing in public property records linked to multiple people

Public property records tie a landlord's identity to multiple addresses and individuals, making it easier for criminals to build social engineering scripts using that relationship map.

In assessing a client's overall identity theft risk level, which combination of factors results in the HIGHEST composite risk score?

Answer: Confirmed SSN exposure on dark web + no credit freeze + reused passwords across financial sites

Dark web SSN exposure combined with no credit freeze and reused passwords creates simultaneous vulnerability to new account fraud and account takeover — the highest-risk combination.