M. Allen asked:




Identity theft, the act of stealing someone’s personal information to use for illegal purposes is a crime that can damage your credit rating, your personal or business reputation, and most assuredly your sanity. Identity theft is also a crime that can be prevented. There are many things we can do to make it at the very least tougher for thieves to steal our personal information.

Check your credit reports regularly. Many smaller charges may never come to your attention but will land on your credit report. Check your credit report carefully and note any accounts that you are sure don’t belong to you. Also, when denied credit because of information in a credit report you are allowed to ask for a free copy of your credit report from the credit bureau that issued the negative information. Once a year, everyone has the right to request a free copy of their credit report from any or all of the three major credit bureaus.

Be wary of credit monitoring offers. Even when purchasing a copy of your credit report from one of the three major credit bureaus, the cost is usually about $9. Why pay the hundreds of dollars that are charged by credit monitoring companies to do the same thing you should do, check your credit report regularly.

Watch out for imposters. Many scam artists attempt to pose as companies you do business with. They can contact you via email, through the mail, or over the phone claiming to need you to verify your personal information. Your suspicion should be heightened if you are contacted by a company asking you for information they should already have. Before responding to the inquiries, you should contact the company and ask if the request is truly coming from them.

Guard your sensitive information. The security of your social security number should be highly important to you. Your social security number is the master key that unlocks your identity. With it, crooks can access most anything in your name. Many medical and government institution use your social security number as your account number. Most are able to give you an alternate number to use if you express to them that you don’t want your social security number used. You should only provide your credit card or bank account numbers when you are actually buying something. These numbers could be used to drain your finances without your knowing about it. Also, it is always best to memorize your passwords and PIN numbers. It is far too easy for someone to use these if they find them in your wallet or purse.

Secure your personal information. Your offline world is filled with pieces of paper with your personal information. Whether in your car, at school, at work, or at home you should do your best to secure sensitive information behind a lock. It is also best to send outgoing bill payments from a public mailbox or the post office itself instead of from your house mailbox. Sometimes even incoming junk mail can contain accurate personal information. To properly dispose of these it may be useful to have a small paper shredder.

Get off credit marketing lists. Credit bureaus compile marketing lists for pre-approved offers of credit cards. These mailing lists are a jackpot for scammers and identity thieves. They can use these to apply for a credit card in your name and change the mailing address so it is sent to them instead. You can usually get your contact information removed from these marketing lists by calling 1-888-567-8688.

Protect yourself when online as well. The first thing to know is that email is not a secure method of communication. Do not send sensitive information like credit card numbers, social security numbers, or financial account numbers through email. When doing business with a website, look for clues that tell if it is a secure website or not. Even when getting a message that states your information is encrypted while it’s transferred to the website, you still want to look for information regarding how secure your information is kept by the company who will now have it.

Stay up-to-date on information regarding scams and identity theft. The more knowledge you have, the harder it is for the crooks.

Jorge

Amy Zhang asked:




Worried about identity theft? Then you must consider getting identity theft prevention help. What does identity theft prevention help really means? Most companies who advertise that they help prevent identity theft actually do not. What they do instead is to make it much more difficult for identity thieves to use the personal data that they have stolen, thus offering some form of protection.

To be able to prevent identity theft, you must first know how identity theft happens. Remember the last time you applied for a credit card? Or how about that time when you bought something online? What did you do in both instances? Most likely, you have filled out forms in the two situations mentioned. And what are the things that you have written in the forms? That’s right, basic important information abut yourself. You must understand that every time you leave important personal information about yourself, you are putting yourself at risk of being a victim of identity theft. This is because the information you have left can be used by identity thieves without you knowing it.

Some of the scary things that an identity thief can do includes using your credit card or even your savings in a bank without your knowledge. Now this is were an identity theft prevention help would be useful. The thief may be able to charge things on your credit card but at least you would know about it immediately if you have identity theft prevention help.

identity theft prevention help can also stop thieves from setting up new accounts using your personal information. Imagine what you would feel if you will suddenly get calls from collection agencies asking you to pay for something using a card that you know you didn’t apply for? You would feel angry and frustrated of course. Worse, identity thieves can ruin your credit rating, something that you have spent years protecting. identity theft prevention help can assist you in dealing with collection agencies and thus in helping rebuild your credit rating.

Identity theft prevention help can also assist you in dealing with the police with regards to investigation and issuing warrants. Without help, you would have to do all the follow ups and filing at the police station yourself.

If you think it is expensive to hire identity theft prevention help, think again. Most of these companies charge as little as $10 a month. Now that’s a small price to pay for your security and peace of mind.

Glenda

Jeff Kiser asked:




Identity theft prevention services do not exactly prevent identity theft. They simply make it much harder for thieves to use the personal information they have stolen, thereby protecting you against many of the techniques identity thieves use.

We give away personal information all the time. Any time you write a check at the store, charge airline tickets, rent a car, mail your tax returns, change cell phone service providers, or apply for a credit card you are giving away bits of personal information, such as your bank and credit card account numbers, your Social Security number and your name, address, and phone number. These bits and pieces are a treasure trove to an identity thief. Once thieves have this information, they can use it without your knowledge to commit fraud or theft.

For example, identity thieves can take your personal information to redirect your financial data, such as bank and credit card statements, to prevent you from noticing that your existing credit card or bank account is being used without your knowledge. Identity theft prevention services prevent this from happening. This doesn’t mean, of course, that a thief couldn’t have charged things on a stolen credit card, only that you would know about it sooner…assuming you check your monthly statements.

Protection services also prevent new accounts from being set up by identity thieves in your name. This protection is important because the only way you would know this had happened was when you began to be harassed by collection agencies or when you try to get credit, only to find your credit rating has been trashed.

Identity theft prevention services also help you should the thieves be successful, in that they will help you with the police regarding warrants as well as assist you with getting collection agencies to stop harassing you for debts that aren’t yours.

If you think that you don’t need these services because, after all, if you report your credit cards stolen, you won’t get charged for the bogus charges, think again. Identity thieves don’t just use credit cards. They can set up new cell phone accounts in your name. They can take out a car loan in your name. They can give your name should they be arrested then, when they don’t show up at court, a warrant is issued in your name!

Identity theft prevention services are inexpensive…generally around $100 a year per individual or $150 for households. If you aren’t a careful type, guarding your personal information, reading your statements carefully and noticing if they don’t arrive, shredding mail with identifying information, then an identity theft prevention service might be right for you.

Andrew

Vijayanand asked:


If you’re like most people, you work hard to build your assets and maintain good credit in the eyes of lenders. Through no fault of your own, however, your hard work can be undermined through Identity theft. Having your identity stolen can wreak havoc on your life. If your social security number is compromised, thieves can rack up thousands of dollars on credit cards you don’t even know you have. Your credit rating can be ruined to the point where it’s impossible for you to get any kind of loan. In the worst cases, thieves can get driver’s licenses in your name and impersonate you in criminal pursuits. A warrant could be issued for you for crimes someone else committed in your name.

There are dozens of ways that criminals can access your personal and financial information. For example, they can steal your wallet or purse, rifle through your mail for credit applications, hack into your online accounts or bribe employees at companies who have access to your financial records and identity theft protection Protecting yourself from ID theft requires constant vigilance. There are steps you can take to minimize or prevent ID theft, some of the areas of opportunity for thieves (such as shredding credit card applications and using computer firewalls), but there are some vulnerabilities you simply can’t prevent ID Theft. For those things, early detection is the only way to minimize the damage.

The three main credit reporting agencies, TransUnion, Experian and Equifax, all provide one free credit report per year to consumers. Reviewing these credit reports is one way to identify fraudulent activity. Unfortunately, checking your credit report once a year is not enough to prevent damage from ID Theft. Your credit rating can fall quickly once your identity has been compromised. You need to know what’s on your credit on a regular basis to thwart identity thieves from the start.

ID TheftSmart from Comodo offers credit protection Identity theft Prevention? Anchor text and restoration services. Besides providing access to your credit score and credit report, ID TheftSmart monitors your credit constantly and alerts you to issues before they have a chance to damage your credit rating. Additionally, they provide email warnings of potentially fraudulent activity so you can stop it in its tracks. You do not have to fear for your credit rating or your good name when you enroll in the ID TheftSmart program.

If you do become the victim of ID theft, ID TheftSmart makes it easy to rectify the problem. A team of licensed investigators immediately puts fraud alerts on your credit to prevent further damage. They then comb through your personal and financial records to identify any suspicious activity and work with the proper authorities to restore your proper credit rating and good reputation. Recovering from identity theft on your own can take hundreds of hours of your personal time. If you are a member of ID TheftSmart, however, most of the work is done for you. Neither your time nor your credit has to suffer from someone else’s bad deeds when you protect yourself with ID TheftSmart.



Marilyn

Randy Vezina asked:


 

When a child is born, a parent may apply for a Social Security number for that child.  A child’s Social Security number is very much sought after by identity thieves.  The child identity thief could be a family member (uncle, aunt cousin), another adult who has access and is allowed in your home, someone who has stolen your mail or hacked into your computer.  We think we know who the child identity thief could be, but we don’t.

Most parents apply for the baby’s SSN so that they can claim the child on their taxes and you must submit the SSN on the official tax forms, so now, anybody who has the means to see that tax form can copy the child’s information.  The child’s identity could be stolen at the hospital or at a health professionals’ office.  What about the dishonest legal professional who sells the child’s identity to an unscrupulous client.  It does not matter what profession a person is in, they have the potential to be dishonest.

The thief could be anybody.  Typically, your not going to check your child’s credit rating (why would you), so your not going to know their identity has been stolen.  Now the identity thief has more than a decade to create a new identity for him and gain credit cards, loans, cell phones, utilities, bank accounts, drivers license etc. etc.  The crime is not discovered until your child has grown and applies for her first education loan, apartment, credit card or job!  By now, the trail has become ice cold and your child’s credit record has been cut to ribbons.  In all likelihood all of the accounts opened in her name have been purchased by a collection agency.

It would be very difficult for your child to repair what has happened because of the difficulty in tracking down the original loan applications and transaction records if the original account has been through several hands because of companies merging and being bought-up.  Our children need to be taught about the dangers of providing their personal information and your personal information when they are logged onto the net.  Today’s kids have a burning desire to log into the many chat rooms and social networking sites and they may be asked for personal information on a registration screen or by an identity thief.

The preventative identity theft company, LifeLock, has already launched the first-of-its-kind Children’s ID Theft Prevention Program.  Now, LifeLock’s subscribers can add the children’s ID theft program to their existing full suite of ID theft preventative services.  The children’s theft prevention program is for minors 16 years and younger.  A recent study in the state of Utah revealed that 1,800 Social Security numbers assigned to children 12 years of age and younger had been forged, according to the state’s Identity Theft Task Force.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has advised that between 5% and 7% of identity theft victims are under the age of 18 and if you include college-aged individuals, it is almost 20%.

“Due to the extreme increase in ID theft among minors, we have taken the initiative to develop a first-of-its-kind program to protect children,” said Todd Davis, CEO of LifeLock.  Tracking credit bureau activity and monitoring depository accounts are considered standard when dealing with identity theft.  But Davis insists that working with the Social Security Administration and identifying work activity from unusually young minors is a red flag that warrants further investigation. “LifeLock is in the process of working with local and federal agencies, as well as leaders in Washington D.C. to lead the efforts in protecting our children from identity theft. This is a critical aspect of our overall service,” continued Davis. “As the Utah investigation demonstrated, sadly, there are numerous victims yet to be discovered.”  LifeLock subscribers can pay $10 per year for the Children’s ID Theft Prevention Program through which LifeLock will regularly audit the credit bureau, monitor depository banking accounts, and track any unusual “work activity” with the Social Security Administration on behalf of LifeLock’s youth customers. All minors enrolled in the program will also benefit by LifeLock’s standard $1 million guarantee.

 

Do you want to learn about Identity Theft Prevention &

Judy