Police warn of voting schemes

The Federal Trade Commission is advising voters to use caution when giving out personal information during this election season.

In an alert issued Wednesday, the commission warned against providing information to unsolicited callers who ask for a Social Security number or financial information in order to check voter registration or eligibility.

Art Englebardt is trying to prevent this type of voter fraud through a new division of the Chapel Hill Police Department.

The Office of Senior Services was announced in August as a new way to protect the area's senior citizens against identify theft and other forms of fraud.

Voter fraud involving the use of Social Security numbers is one of the office's more recent projects.

"A Social Security number is the leading thing identity thieves want," said Englebardt, who is the director of the new office.

"They can open up more accounts using a Social Security number than even a bank account number."

Senior citizens are especially vulnerable targets for fraud, he said.

The most recent statistics available from the commission state that in 2002, 10 percent of reported identity theft cases were from people over the age of 60.

"Identity thieves go for seniors," Englebardt said.

"The older you are, there's more of a chance of dementia and other debilitating diseases. Older people are more apt to be fooled."

Carolyn Thomas, director of the Orange County Board of Elections, said there have been no instances of voter fraud in the county.

"People registering to vote in North Carolina need a valid state driver's license or some other identification, like a college ID or utility bill," Thomas said.

It is never necessary to provide a Social Security number, she said.

Legitimate voting agencies do not make unsolicited calls, Englebardt said.

"No one is going to ask for any credit information, a Social Security number or checking information, anything with background tracking," he said.

No cases of identity theft related to voter information have been reported to city police, he said. "I have not seen or heard of any cases like this. That's the tough thing about law enforcement, we don't know when we're doing a good job because we don't hear about it."

His office is helping to notify senior citizens about possible scams. It helped distribute the latest commission alert to local agencies dealing with senior citizens.

"Our residents usually let me know about problems," said Art Southard, director of safety and security at Carol Woods Retirement Community, located at 750 Weaver Dairy Road.

Southard said community residents are relatively savvy about suspicious calls and e-mails and often find information on the Internet. "I do periodically put articles in our newsletter telling residents what not to tell callers," he said.

Englebardt said the way to prevent voter fraud is simple.

"Don't give any information to someone who calls you."

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.