Perhaps it's because I'm “ABD” in math that I'm never really able to turn my brain off from this particular way of looking at the world. But whenever I hear numbers tossed around, I don't let go. I start doing calculations. So, here goes. There are 3.6 million Puerto Ricans, all of whom have been impacted by Hurricane Maria. About 143 American citizens had their identities compromised by the Equifax data breach. There's no good reason to believe that these aren't independent events, statistically speaking. That suggests that as many as 44% of all Puerto Ricans, or 1.5 million people, are impacted by both Hurricane Maria and the Equifax breach. If this doesn't alarm you, you haven't thought about it long enough. So I'll skip a line and give the a chance to think about it before I continue.
Still with me? Good. In the scrum created by an incompetent administration, it’s easy to forget the complex interactions between all the problems that they keep not addressing. This is but one example.
Identity theft is no joke. People have their tax refunds stolen, they can lose federal aid, they get their bank accounts drained and their credit scores ruined. According to the ID Theft Center:
The strongest feelings expressed were: rage or anger, betrayal, unprotected by police, personal financial fears, sense of powerlessness, sense they were grieving, annoyed, frustrated, exhausted, sleep disturbances, an inability to trust people, and the desire to give up and stop fighting the system. ITRC long term emotional responses included: 8% felt suicidal, 19% feeling captive, 29% ready to give up and 10% felt that they have lost everything.
If 44% of people impacted by the Equifax data breach is distributed evenly across the population, the likelihood of having one’s identity stolen will skew heavily towards people whose lives have been upended by natural disasters. Back in 2014, when we had a refreshingly prosaic, competent person running the Executive Branch (try to remember that, so we don’t get used to what we currently have — never, ever let yourself get used to what we currently have...please...), the FBI sent out a public service announcement after a spate of wildfires in California. Disaster fraud is a thing. For real. From the FBI’s website:
Identity Theft
Many people can lose important documents after a natural disaster. These items, which often contain personal information such as a Social Security and credit card and bank account numbers, can be used by identity thieves to make purchases and open new accounts in your name. Be sure to do the following:
- Contact your creditors immediately to report lost credit cards. Contact your bank if you have lost checks or bank card.
- Use a paper shredder to dispose of any papers or documents with personal information when you are cleaning up after a disaster so identity thieves cannot get your personal information.
- Get a copy of your credit report a few weeks after the disaster to be sure no one has illegally used your personal information. You can obtain a free credit report once a year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union.
Of course, this was under the assumption that the credit reporting agencies were responsible stewards of our personal data. The fact that it was Equifax itself was hacked this time around puts this particular data breach in a category unto itself, like the relationship between a normal virus and one that attacks the immune system. The common cold as opposed to AIDS, if you will.
Imagine for a moment you’re in Puerto Rico, you have no electricity or running water, and your top priority is your health and safety. Is shredding bank statements a top priority? You best hope might be that the storm itself destroyed any personally identifying documents that could fall into the wrong hands. On the other hand, if a thief has gotten hold of your personal information, you might have a hard time producing the documents to prove your identity. That these two events, catastrophic in different ways, would occur simultaneously, is the kind of stuff that even the most inventive novelist would have a hard time dreaming up.
In the long run, this could plague any Puerto Ricans trying to make it to the mainland. Other people on this site have written diaries quoting Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló as saying that “millions” of Puerto Ricans may try to move to the mainland (I find this estimate both alarming and frighteningly plausible — under the circumstances, who wouldn’t want to get out of dodge?). A Puerto Rican trying to establish themselves on the mainland, who is also one of the 143 million people at a heightened risk of identity theft is in a precarious position indeed. Not only would they have to look over their shoulder indefinitely, they also have a big target on their backs. In the current climate of fear and creeping racism that this administration has created for anyone with darker skin and a Hispanic name, there is a ready buyer’s market for stolen identities of American citizens. And if those American citizens have names that “look the part”, all the better for would-be crooks in Russia or China or who the heck knows where.
I don’t know the solution to this tangled mess, but I do know that it’s going to demand a smart, thoughtful response by competent officials.
Don’t hold your breath.