Here’s Why I Have Identity Protection

In my efforts to fight identity theft, I like to think I can do everything myself. I’m pretty resourceful and can find all the information I need to get stuff done. So I figured there was no way I was going to pay some company to protect my identity.

The first thing I wanted to learn about was the difference between a fraud alert or security freeze. To be honest, I’d never even heard about either of them until that crazy guy started putting his social security number on the side of a truck! I decided a fraud alert would be better for me right now and besides, it was going to cost me $30 to do the freeze and another $30 if I ever wanted to get new credit. I was planning to buy a house within the next 6 months, so I needed to have my files available to lenders.

I had already opted-out of getting junk mail years ago. I saw the phone number for that in a magazine article and immediately grabbed my phone - really, I did. Plus I was already pretty good at getting my free annual credit reports and spacing them out through the year. I shred stuff, I check my credit card statements every month, I did what the FTC recommends - faithfully.

But I still got blindsided one day. I was about to buy a house and had been keeping a close eye on my credit score which was pretty good. All of a sudden, it had dropped by almost 150 points and I almost peed my pants. Someone had used my name and social security number to turn on electricity in a city I had never lived in then skipped out on the last bill. I never knew about it until it was turned over to a collections agency and by then, my credit score gotten tanked.

No matter what you do, this type of thing doesn’t get cleared up in a week or two and my credit score was going to be low for quite a while. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t me who skipped out on a bill for an account that I hadn’t opened. My score was still awful at the time I needed to get a new mortgage. All I could do was plead with banks to look at my credit history but too many pencil pushing pinheads only looked at my score. So I had two choices, I could put off buying the house I wanted until I got everything straightened out or I could pay a higher interest rate. Both lousy choices.

After that, I decided maybe some identity protection was a good idea. I wanted to find the best identity theft protection I could but it still had to be affordable in my budget.

The thing that was most important to me was a company who would actually fix the problem for me if my identity ever was mis-used again. Trying to fix it on my own and having to ask the collections rep what to do was not something I ever wanted to repeat.

LifeLock and ID Watchdog are the only two companies I could find that do the restoration work for you. Others have helplines and resources available. But I was now at the point of wanting to turn it all over to an expert to take care of it for me if it ever happened again. It’s so time-consuming and frustrating to do it myself. As in "All of our operators are busy at the moment. Please hold for the next available operator". Then you have to listen to the worst music in the world for the next 20 minutes only to get cut off and have to start all over again.

Besides the restoration services, both of those companies have scanning features that watch out for your info being used. ID Watchdog has a long, long list of places they look every month plus their sherriff spokesperson looks so tough and mean - like he could get the job done. But it costs $19.99 a month. That was a little steep for me. So I looked a bit closer at LifeLock’s services. I did a ton of research and here’s what sold me. With over a million people enrolled now, only a little over 100 have ever had a problem with identity theft. LifeLock fixed their problem right away for them. At $10 a month, that was more in my price range. One of the LifeLock reviews I read had an offer that lowered the price to $9 a month and a free month to test drive it.

So this has been the story of how I decided I did need the protection, the company I chose and why I chose them. I can tell you that I feel much more comfortable now with one less thing to worry about.

Zero Day Threat - Book Warns of Identity Theft Dangers

Want to know more about identity theft? Read this excellent book  titled "Zero Day Threat"  and subtitled "The Shocking Truth of How Banks and Credit Bureaus Help Cyber Crooks Steal Your  Money and Identity" . That’s pretty self-explanatory on what you’ll find in this well-written and researched book.

Identity Thieves are no longer individuals working in their own little territory. Identity theft has become THE crime of this century and run by well-organized crime rings all over the world.

The public in general still believes they are safe from identity theft because banks, credit bureaus, companies or any place we do business is carefully safeguarding our personal information. WRONG!

We’re at risk - every single one of us.

Many people think they’re safe because they don’t go on the internet or do any internet banking. Wrong again. Banks and credit bureaus have your information. It doesn’t matter how careful you are personally. You’re still at risk.

I watched a rerun of The Godfather last night. I hadn’t seen it in 20 years. It reminded me of the brutal methods used by organized crime. They do whatever they can to profit and have no remorse at all. If an identity thief can steal the life savings of an 80 year old lady - too bad so sad for her. They’ll take it in a heartbeat and not care about how it affects their victim.

Read this book - get informed - spread the word about letting people know just how serious this crime really is. Here’s the website for the Zero Day Threat book. And below is a short video from one of it’s authors - Byron Acohido.

 

Use Credit Cards Online Safely

Shopping on the internet is growing every year as more people have discovered it. The sheer convenience of sitting at home, clicking your mouse and having your purchases dropped at your front door is hard to resist. You can also compare and buy hard-to-find items that otherwise would be almost impossible to buy locally.

To avoid having your credit card number exposed to possible identity fraud, you do need to take precautions.

Make sure the page you enter your credit card number on is encrypted. Look at the address bar at the top of your browser window and see that it starts with ‘https:‘ . That "S" stands for "secure". If you look at the very bottom of your brower window, you’ll also see a little yellow padlock icon. These are good signs that the page can safely send your cc number with encryption.

My favorite way to use a credit card online is to get a temporary number from my credit card company. I use my MBNA card which is now Bank of America. They have a feature called "Shopsafe". It’s super-easy to use.

When I’m at the check-out page at a web store, I open a new browser window and login to my BOA account. They have a link in there called "Use Shopsafe". When I click it, it pops up a small window where I can put a credit limit and expiration date. Then it randomly creates an account number with the limit I specified and the exp. date. It has that little 3 digit security code, too. That account number can never be used at a different store or have charges on it over my limit. I usually set my limit to $10 over what my payment will be and have it expire in 2 months. I then have the choice to cancel that number or renew it if I plan to shop at that site again (like Amazon!). No one online ever gets my REAL credit card number. This is really handy for a site that has a recurring charge. If you ever want to cancel, you can be sure they stop charging you by simply deleting that number you gave them.

Another option for shopping online and protecting your credit card number is to use Paypal. They will default you to paying from your savings account, but to get the protection your credit card company offers, I always use my credit card as the source of funding. It’s extra steps to change it, but it’s worth the hassel. I only use it when a webstore doesn’t take credit cards. Many small vendors just use the Paypal option.

Keep your scam radar on when you’re shopping online and don’t get into a big hurry entering your information. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. But now that you know how to be safe - go ahead and look for that great deal online.

 

Identity Theft and the US Mail

WOW.. Identity theft has hit the big time….

Today I got a letter from the US Postal Service address to "Resident" and the envelope said, "Identity theft Prevention Tips." Inside it was a nice letter from the Postmaster General and a brochure put out by the FTC about identity theft.

I’m guessing every household in the US is getting one of those this month. I really can’t recall getting anything like this before.

Identity theft is a hot topic in Washington now. New laws and protection for victims is being debated. It’s a very serious crime that our government is taking to heart. I know taxpayer dollars went into that mass mailing, but it’s a good thing because it’s still a small percentage of people go looking on the internet for identity theft prevention info. This way, everybody who opens their mail can read about how to protect themselves.

The US Postal Services are taking a hard line on this crime and promise to make and keep our mail secure.

Some of the ways you can help are to:

• Get a mailbox with a lock
• If you can’t get a locked mailbox, consider getting a PO Box for your sensitive mail like credit statements, mortgage payments, etc.
• Mail payments with checks at a post office or USPS Mailbox - not in an unsecured area
• Know when your monthly statements arrive and look for them in your mailbox - stealing them is one of the ways identity thieves get your personal information
• Open all your mail regularly and be suspicious of something you didn’t order

Learning the signs of identity theft and how to prevent it are the first steps in keeping yourself safe from thieves. They’re out there and every 3 seconds a new identity is stolen. Don’t let the next one be yours.

 

 

Identity Theft or Identity Fraud?

The term ‘identity theft’ is thrown around a lot nowadays. It’s pretty much turned into a blanket definition for any type of electronic thievery or impersonation.

So what’s the difference between identity theft and identity fraud?

Identity fraud is usually easy to fix. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it’s very, very common. It happens when someone steals your credit or debit card and uses it to buy themselves all kinds of goodies on your tab.

How would someone get your credit card number?

Here’s a few ways:

• Lose your credit card
• Stolen wallet
• Clerk has a skimmer to steal your number when you pay for something
• Unsecure website where you purchased something online
• Phishing email or phone call

To guard against credit card fraud, carefully check your monthly statements - every month. Even better, look at them online once a week. Any charges that you didn’t make indicate someone is using your card. Some thieves will just make small purchases to be sure your numbers work. Then they get serious and start buying big ticket items - lots of them. Most thieves will begin to buy things immediately - like within hours you could have an additional 15K charged on your card.

Many banks will call their card customers if suddenly a lot of unusual charges start coming in. They track your regular spending and flag something that looks unusual. This protects you AND the bank.

You’ll generally only be liable for the first $50 of fraudulent charges. Many banks now waive any liability so it doesn’t cost you anything - except time. Fixing it is no fun. Plus, you lose your nice secure feeling.

How is Identity Theft is different from Identity Fraud?

Identity theft is when a thief uses your personal information to open new lines of credit. Or even to get a job. They can also pretend to be you for medical identity theft. They get treatment and leave you responsible for paying. Ouch - that’s gonna take more than a band-aide to fix. You could even be pronounced dead but still be liable for the charges since you’re really alive.

You may not find out about identity theft for years if you don’t check your credit report regularly. Someone has given your name, social security number, date of birth and driver’s license number and used it to get phone service, loans, boats, cars, jobs - well, the list goes on and on. Illegal immigrants use stolen identities to start a life here and off they go pretending to be you.

Your identity can be sold many times over. Even if you clear it up once, it can happen again.

Actual identity theft is much harder to fix than identity fraud. You’ll be presumued guilty until you prove it wasn’t you who opened the new lines of credit. No matter how much proof you give, some creditors will continue to dog you - they just want to be paid and they don’t care if you’re innocent.

In the meantime, your credit is shot. If you were in the market for a house or new car, it will be impossible to get a good rate because your score has taken a dive. You look like a deadbeat.

But the good news is….

Lawmakers have passed legislation in the last few years to help you protect yourself. You can now get a truly free credit report each year from http://annualcreditreport.com. You can also put a fraud alert on your credit files that requests any new lines of credit be approved by you personally before being opened.

Since November 2007, you can put a freeze on your credit. This used to be available only to identity theft victims in many states. Not even you can open an account if your credit has been frozen.  This makes it the most secure way to protect yourself but it’s not free to freeze/thaw. It’s about $10 at each of the three credit bureaus each time you need to change it. Plus, it will take a week or two to complete.

Protect yourself from identity theft. It’s so much easier than fixing it afterwards. You can do your own identity theft protection or enroll with a company specializing in it. Compare identity theft protection plans.

Identity Theft and Illegal Immigrants

Illegal immigration has become a major player in the identity theft ballpark. Because of the easy access thieves have to steal identities, illegal immigrants are able to obtain a ‘new identity’ quicker and cheaper.

Illegals aren’t  buying identities to wipe out bank accounts or open huge lines of credit. They need them to get a job and a driver’s license. People using a fraudulent identity to get a job often use it to also obtain utility services, government benefits, medical care and credit.

Illegal immigrants who buy identities are mostly good people looking for a better life in the United States. When they buy an identity on the black market, they are often told that the documentation is for a person who is dead, who never existed or who left the country and sold his paperwork. The majority of them are quite naive and believe they aren’t harming anyone.

However, their motives aren’t going to help you one bit if it happens to be your identity that’s stolen.

Imagine getting a nasty-gram from the IRS saying you owe back taxes - a lot of them. Now you know you’ve paid your taxes because who wants to get into a tiff with the IRS? But if many illegals are using your social security number and not paying taxes, that income is reported as yours.

It gets even worse than that.

You could get arrested because crimes were committed by someone using your name. Even when you can prove you were peacefully minding your own business at the time of the crime, you still have to clean up the mess and clear your name.

Now you’re the victim but the attitude you’ll find while attempting to restore your identity is that you’re a deadbeat trying to get away with something. You’ll have to continuously prove your innocence… possibly for years. The financial and emotional toll is high.

It’s no surprise that the states that border Mexico - Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California have the highest rates of identity theft. Florida is right in there too because of it’s influx of immigrants from the Caribbean Islands.

The only thing you can personally do to protect yourself from becoming a victim is to put some kind of identity theft protection in place. You can do many things yourself such as fraud alerts or security freezes.

Other options are protection from companies like LifeLock, Trusted ID or Identity Guard.  These companies will place fraud alerts for you and make sure they are always renewed. They offer insurance and valuable assistance from specialists if your identity is stolen.

Identity Guard has a feature most plans lack. They will monitor the internet’s black markets, chat rooms and emails for unauthorized use of your social security number and other personal information. This is typically something that would be very difficult to do yourself.

Become proactive in protecting yourself from identity theft. It’s a crime only going to become more common as years go by.

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