CIPA Identity Theft Risk Assessment & Prevention 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which factor is considered the HIGHEST risk indicator when assessing an individual's vulnerability to medical identity theft?
- Using public Wi-Fi occasionally
- Sharing insurance cards with family members
- Having multiple healthcare providers with uncoordinated records (Correct answer)
- Receiving paper Explanation of Benefits statements
Correct answer: Having multiple healthcare providers with uncoordinated records
Multiple uncoordinated providers create fragmented records that are harder to monitor for fraudulent entries, increasing medical identity theft risk.
Question 2: A CIPA advisor is conducting a household risk assessment. Which discovery would MOST warrant immediate escalation?
- An unlocked filing cabinet containing tax returns
- A client who never checks their credit report
- Mail piling up at an unoccupied vacation home for two weeks (Correct answer)
- Using the same password for multiple streaming services
Correct answer: Mail piling up at an unoccupied vacation home for two weeks
Accumulated mail at an unoccupied property is a high-priority physical risk because stolen pre-approved offers and financial statements enable new account fraud.
Question 3: When evaluating synthetic identity theft risk for a minor child, which scenario presents the GREATEST concern?
- The child has a savings account opened by parents
- The child's SSN has never been used for any credit (Correct answer)
- The parents claim the child as a dependent on taxes
- The child uses a shared family tablet for schoolwork
Correct answer: The child's SSN has never been used for any credit
A pristine, unused SSN belonging to a minor is highly attractive to fraudsters who can build synthetic identities on it undetected for years.
Question 4: Which prevention strategy BEST addresses the risk of account takeover through SIM swapping?
- Enabling two-factor authentication via SMS
- Setting a port freeze or SIM lock with your mobile carrier (Correct answer)
- Using a unique email address for financial accounts
- Enrolling in credit monitoring services
Correct answer: Setting a port freeze or SIM lock with your mobile carrier
A carrier-level SIM lock or port freeze requires additional in-person verification before a number can be transferred, directly blocking SIM swap attacks.
Question 5: In a risk assessment for a recently divorced client, which asset deserves IMMEDIATE identity theft protection attention?
- Joint bank accounts that have been closed
- Joint credit accounts that have not yet been separated (Correct answer)
- A shared streaming service subscription
- Previously filed joint tax returns
Correct answer: Joint credit accounts that have not yet been separated
Open joint credit accounts give an ex-spouse the ability to run up debt or open new accounts, making them a critical immediate risk post-divorce.
Question 6: Which method of document destruction is recommended for disposing of pre-approved credit card offers?
- Tearing the document in half before discarding
- Placing in a locked recycling bin
- Cross-cut or micro-cut shredding (Correct answer)
- Soaking in water before disposal
Correct answer: Cross-cut or micro-cut shredding
Cross-cut or micro-cut shredding renders documents unreadable and unrecoverable, unlike simple tearing or other methods that can be reassembled.
Question 7: A client reports they recently responded to an email from their bank requesting account verification. What identity theft risk has MOST likely occurred?
- Shoulder surfing
- Dumpster diving
- Phishing credential compromise (Correct answer)
- Social engineering via vishing
Correct answer: Phishing credential compromise
Responding to fraudulent bank emails is a classic phishing attack that likely resulted in credential compromise of the client's online banking login.
CIPA Identity Theft Risk Assessment & Prevention 2
Which factor is considered the HIGHEST risk indicator when assessing an individual's vulnerability to medical identity theft?