Kenneth Kelly asked:


Protecting Your Identity

Identity theft can be one of the most difficult situations to deal with. Often, the ill effects of becoming a victim can last for years. Some of the common problems victims face are:

• Money is fraudulently withdrawn from checking or saving accounts

• Mysterious charges appear on credit card bills

• Credit score is damaged

• Experience difficulty opening new banking or credit card accounts

• Calls from collection agencies

• Ending up with a criminal record in error

Identity theft has been called one of the fastest growing white-collar crimes in America. According to Javelin Strategy & Research, Inc., in 2005, over 9 million people were directly affected with total losses exceeding $56 billion. But it doesn’t stop there. It actually affects everyone due to rising costs from merchants and banks to offset their losses. With identity theft growing to an all time high, it is important to do everything you can to keep yourself from becoming a victim.

Ways To Prevent Identify Theft

While there is no way to 100 percent guarantee that you will not become a victim of identity theft, there are some steps you can take to decrease the likelihood that it will happen to you. Follow the steps below to reduce your chances of becoming a victim:

1. Protect your social security number. The number one way criminals are able to establish credit in your name is by having your social security number. Here are some suggestions to better protect your social security number:

• Do not give your full social security number over the phone (most reputable companies will request only the last 4 digits).

• Do not carry your social security card in your wallet.

• Secure or shred any documents that contain your social security number .

2. Protect your incoming and outgoing mail. Many criminals seek out credit card pre-approval offers by sniffing through their victims’ mailboxes. Here are some suggestions to better protect your mail:

• Put all outgoing mail in an actual post office mailbox instead of your home mailbox.

• If you do leave mail in your home mailbox, avoid putting the flag up.

• Shred any pre-approved credit offer letters.

• Keep trash cans in a location that is viewable by your neighbors.

3. Protect your computer. Do not allow hackers easy access to your personal data on your computer. Here are some suggestions to better protect your email:

• Make sure you have up-to-date anti-virus software loaded on your computer.

• Make sure you have up-to-date anti-spyware software loaded on your computer.

• Avoid clicking on links or opening emails from unknown senders.

• Never send sensitive information regarding your personal identity within an email.

Ways To Detect Identity Theft

The sooner you discover an incident of abuse, the better. By doing so, you reduce the amount of money that may be stolen and it becomes less difficult to repair the damage. Here are some simple steps to you can take to detect identity theft early:

• Subscribe to an online credit monitoring service. These services send you email alerts when changes occur within your credit file. The service can be very inexpensive, starting as low as $6.95 a month or lower. Most services include some form of 3-in-1 credit monitoring package.

• Read your bank and credit card statements every month to ensure they do not contain any unauthorized charges. If you do not recognize a charge, call your bank or credit card company immediately.

• View your full credit report 2 times a year minimally. Be sure to compare each one to the previous report.

Your Liability

Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone steals and uses your credit card. (Many credit card companies have a benefit in place that actually waves the $50 fee in case you do become a victim.) However, with ATM cards, you could lose up to $500 or more if you do not report any unauthorized transaction to your bank within two business days. If you do report the unauthorized charges within 2 days, you could limit your liability to only $50.

What To Do if You Become A Victim

No matter how many preventative steps you take to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft, the unthinkable can still occur. In this situation, follow the list of steps below to quickly repair any credit damage. The faster you do this, the better.

1. Contact at least one of the three credit reporting agencies and request a fraud alert be placed on your credit report. Once the fraud alert is placed on your account, it will automatically be placed on the other two. This fraud alert is good for 90 days and can be extended up to 7 years if a report is filed with the police department. The fraud alert notifies credit granters to confirm requests for credit with you before granting them. At this time you will also be eligible for a free copy of your credit report from each credit bureau.

2. Report the identity theft to your police of sheriff’s department and obtain a copy of the police report. Creditors will require the police report when you request to remove negative information from your file.

3. Report the identify theft to the Federal Trade Commission. You will need to complete the Identity Theft Affidavit form. Many of the creditors affected by the theft will need this.

4. Close any account affected by the identity theft.

5. Notify all of your credit card companies and let them know you were a victim of identity theft.

6. Close any unfamiliar accounts.

7. Contact the Social Security Administration if you suspect your Social Security number was compromised or is being used by someone else.

8. Keep copies of all correspondence to credit bureaus, creditors, Federal Trade Commission, Social Security Administration, and others pertaining to the identify theft.

Fraud Contacts

If you are a victim of identity theft, the following list will get you started down the path of clearing your good name. They key is to act quickly.

Credit Bureaus

Equifax

Fraud Reporting Line: 1-800-525-6285

P.O. Box 740241

Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

www.equifax.com

Experian

Fraud Reporting Line: 1-800-EXPERIAN (397-3742)

P.O. Box 9532

Allen, Texas 75013

www.experian.com

TransUnion

Fraud Reporting Line: 1-800-680-7289

Fraud Victim Assistance Division

P.O. Box 6790

Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

www.transunion.com

Federal Trade Commission

1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338)

Identity Theft Clearinghouse

Federal Trade Commission

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20580

To file the FTC Report online, visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

Social Security Administration

To report a stolen or misused Social Security number, call

1-800-269-0271

Visit: www.ssa.gov.



Tanya

Keith Londrie asked:


“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.” Plato.

Identity theft, one of the fastest growing crimes in America, is a federal crime under the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act. Bad people or con men usually find ways to get around this law. Identity fraud occurs when a con artist illegitimately uses your identity to make a frightening number of financial and personal transactions in your name, leaving you – the ID theft victim, responsible for what might turn out to be a mind-boggling turmoil in your life. Last year ID fraud crimes topped the list of complaints reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the governmental agency addressing the problem of identity fraud, for the fourth consecutive year.

The FTC estimates that ten million people are victims of ID theft each year. Perhaps the only people minting money are the conmen and identity theft lawyers! Determining the exact scope and financial impact of id theft on people and businesses is difficult. According to a survey conducted by Privacy Right Clearing Group, victims spend from $50 to $2000 on costs related to ID theft, not including identity theft lawyers’ fees. Since ID fraud is a complex crime you may not be able to clear your name as fast as you would like. Bureaucratic financial institutions move slowly, partly to protect you. But if ID theft recovery procedures fail to resolve the problem, you should get in touch with identity theft lawyers. Credit issuers and reporting agencies are sometimes slow in responding to complaints from consumers. The threat of lawsuits can provide some impetus.

If you believe you have been a victim of identity fraud and all steps to restore your name and credit fail, contact top identity theft lawyers in your area immediately, to minimize the damage to your personal and financial accounts, as well as your credit report and reputation. Thanks to the nature of the crime, most identity thieves are never found. So, in order to clear your name, you patiently need to work with the law enforcement agencies and identity theft lawyers, assisting them when you can. Remember, justice moves slowly, and ultimately you will be proven on the side of right, and your life can go return to normal. This is usually a slow process, but it is a necessary evil we all live with.



Bernice

Bernard Pragides asked:


Many people do not realize that there are different types of identity theft. There are indeed several ways in which the identity thief can take advantage of your personal information, while leaving you to deal with the repercussions. Here’s what you need to know about the 5 types of identity theft.

The type of identity theft you are probably most familiar with is Financial Identity Theft. It is when the thief uses your information to set up financial accounts in your name without your permission or knowledge. The thief may obtain credit cards, loans, merchandise, homes, vehicles, vacations and more, all in your name. Financial identity theft can definitely cost you thousands of dollars in debt, not to mention the painstaking process of clearing your name and credit.

Another type of identity theft is Medical Identity Theft wherein the thief uses your information to obtain health and other medical benefits and services. Being a victim of medical identity theft can result to fraudulent billing and having erroneous medical files. Your ability to get a health and life insurance may also be affected. Imagine the nightmare of having an actual medical emergency and having your insurance company refusing to cover the bills as records show you’ve already had the procedure done or you’ve depleted your insurance coverage.

An identity thief can not only leave you with tons of debt, but leave you with a criminal record as well. With Criminal Identity Theft, the thieves use your information to obtain employment, to commit or distance themselves from crimes, or provide your information when questioned by law enforcement. Repercussions can range from undeserved tickets to outstanding arrest warrants and even temporary imprisonment. Victims can also be fired from their jobs due to an “undisclosed conviction”.

An identity thief can also use your identity to begin a “new life”. Basically, the thief openly lives and works as you. This type of identity theft is called Character Identity Theft or Identity Cloning. Using your name, the thief can collect tax refunds and receive your benefits, obtain professional licenses, be married, have children or file for bankruptcy. The thieves are usually criminals, fugitives, illegal aliens, or people with poor work or financial history.

These identity thieves are out there to victimized innocent people particularly seniors. They feel that seniors are easy targets because of their financial status and their lack of awareness of the matter.

Identity theft can not only be devastating to individuals but to businesses as well especially in cases wherein the business’ credit and the owner’s credit are one in the same. With Commercial Identity Theft wherein criminals get credit by charging it to another business’ name, business operations may be severely affected due to a loan being denied or called early or if interest rates on key credit accounts are increased due to a universal default cause.

Truly, an awareness of these different types of identity theft is helpful in protecting ourselves from becoming a victim of the crime. Given that identity theft has now become more common, it’s definitely wise to know what we are up against in order to take the appropriate preventive measures.



Jim

Rick Churchill asked:


Identity theft has become a multi-million dollar crime that affects many people throughout the world. While most people understand how serious this can be, many underestimate how common this problem is and dont realize that they could easily be one of the millions affected. As with all things in life, there is no guarantee that something bad cant happen to a good person but protecting yourself means that you must understand why you and your family need protection, how programs such as LifeLock work, and whether you really need to utilize a program like this at all. This article will explore the issue of identity theft and how the LifeLock program may help to protect you.

While identity theft continues to grow as a crime of choice for many criminals, the exact statistics are hard to pinpoint due to the differing methods that identity thiefs use. 2004 statistics stated that 9.3 million Americans suffered some sort of identity theft. Many identity theft criminals will abuse your personal information until your credit, good name, and social standings are completely destroyed. Even though federal law protects people from having to pay off bills due to fraud, the burden of proof it is up to the victim and clearing everything up after becoming a victim of identity theft can take, on average, 600 hours spread out over several years. To give you an idea of how this crime has escalated, this average of 600 hours is up from 170 hours from only a few years ago. If you become a victim of identity theft, your ability to purchase a home or car, get bank accounts and credit cards, and sometimes your ability to obtain gainful employment can be greatly hindered. While going through the process of restoring their life, an identity theft victim can also expect to spend around $1,500 in out of pocket expenses, not to mention the wage losses they may incur if they are required to take time off from work.

Anti-identity theft programs, such as LifeLock, specialize in preventing identity theft. LifeLock is said to stop junk mail, pre-approved credit card offers, and takes a proactive stance versus the normal reactive method that they claim most companies use. LifeLock states that its program will contact you before your credit is tarnished while most other programs only contact you after the fact. The LifeLock program takes steps so that your credit and personal identification is continuously monitored meaning that you are notified whenever there is any suspicious activity with your credit, social security number, and bank accounts. One problem with this method is that you, as well as thieves, may find it difficult to secure credit but LifeLock states that this is necessary to protect your credit and that they will be available to speak with any creditor you are having difficulties with.

With all these claims, you may be wondering how the LifeLock anti-identity theft program works. LifeLock states that it will contact the four major credit bureaus and submit a 90 day fraud alert in your name which means that nobody, including you, will be able to obtain credit without sending an alert. When someone sets up a fraud alert with a credit reporting agency, the alert will automatically expire in 90 days but LifeLock states that it will automatically renew the alert before it expires and you will be continuously protected. LifeLock also provides you a copy of your credit report four times a year and monitors for any new bank accounts set up in your name. If you fully understand the dangers of identity theft and realize that you could be a victim, you may well be wondering how to join such a program and if you really need to.

Joining LifeLock requires no contract so you may cancel at any time if you are not completely satisfied. This program appears to be relatively inexpensive at $10 a month or $100 per year for adults and $25 a year for your children. You may be wondering why you would want to register your children with LifeLock but the fact of the matter is that children under 18 are great targets for identity theft thieves because nearly any child living in the United States has a social security number that an identity theft thief can steal and any suspicious activity will normally not be caught until the child reaches the age of 18. You may be wondering if a program such as LifeLock is really necessary or if you can take steps on your own to protect yourself. The truth is that you can do all of the things that LifeLock does on your own for free but doing so will eat up your resources, time, and leave you wondering if the steps you took will be effective. LifeLock claims that it offers a service of convenience, eliminating the hassle of you dealing with the details, and eliminating the stress of not knowing if you are truly safe. LifeLock also offers the advantage of acting in your behalf or hiring someone to represent you if the program fails and you actually do become a victim of identity theft.

If the thought of having your identity stolen concerns you, as it should, then you should take steps to reduce the probability of it happening. Whether you decide to take care of this on your own or obtain the service of an anti-identity theft program is up to you but reviews indicate that the LifeLock program does work and has helped a lot of people. Whatever you decide, please take some type of action to protect yourself because identity theft continues to grow and is indeed a huge problem that may very well affect you sometime in the future.



Tommy

Dewey Kearney asked:


You heard right. Identity Theft is THE fastest growing crime wave in America. Why? Because it’s easy and doesn’t require someone to break into your home to make off with the goods. They can get them right out of your trash!

According to the U.S. Postal Service, one reason is the carelessness of how many of us handle sensitive documents. One of the best investments you can make for your home or office is a paper shredder. There are people who make a living out of looking for a copy of someone’s un-shredded bank statement, credit card bill, tax return or any number of documents with sensitive account numbers!

This article is an attempt to educate you of those dangers and give you some genuine facts and a solution or two. If you have ever known someone who had their identity stolen then you know what we are about to tell you is true.

Last year alone, more than 9.9 million Americans were victims of identity theft, a five billion dollar crime wave!

The number of id theft victims and their total losses are probably much higher. It’s hard to pin down, because law enforcement agencies may classify id theft differently – it can involve credit card fraud, Internet fraud, or mail theft, among other crimes. It can even involve your credit report because when you order a copy of yours unless you request that only the last 4 digits be listed, the entire number is there just waiting to be stolen! I know this myself because I recently ordered my credit report be mailed to me and there was my entire social security number on EVERY page for all to see!

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) reported that only four percent of victims cited stolen mail as the source of personal information. Even so, U.S. Postal Inspectors, charged with protecting the nation’s mail system from criminal misuse, are leaders in the fight against identity theft.

What Should I Do If I Am A Victim of Identity Theft?

According to the FTC, if you are a victim of identity theft there are four steps you should take as soon as possible, and keep a record with the details of your conversations and copies of all correspondence.

Place a fraud alert on your credit reports, and review your credit reports.

Fraud alerts can help prevent an identity thief from opening any more accounts in your name. But one is too many.

One of the best favors you can do for yourself is order LifeLock the guaranteed Identity Theft program. When we set our site up we decided to only recommend vendors that we had confidence in personally.

What sold us on LifeLock? The fact that their founder and CEO Todd Davis does their advertising and gives his Social Security number in all their ads. When I first heard this I figured it had to be an advertising ploy. After further checking them out both my daughter and I both signed up. They have lived up to everything they said and as a bonus we stopped getting those pre-approved credit card offers and the majority of our junk mail also stopped.

Here is what LifeLock says about themselves:

Stop Identity Theft. Guaranteed.

By now you’ve heard the stories about individuals whose identities have been stolen by identity thieves. They’re not pretty stories . . . people working for hundreds of hours over many years to get their lives back in order, even innocent individuals ending up in jail! We can protect against this ever happening to you. Guaranteed. Up to $1 million.

LifeLock doesn’t just report unauthorized use of your credit information, we prevent it by working with the credit bureaus to make sure you’re contacted to approve any credit transaction before it takes place. We also remove your name from pre-approved credit card offers and junk-mail lists, where identity theft often gets started.

We’re the leaders in proactive identity theft protection as you’ve probably seen in coverage in The Wall Street Journal and Chicago Tribune, and on MSNBC, CNN, and many other national news outlets. We’re so sure of our system our CEO confidently publishes his own Social Security number in all our ads.

Is this fraud alert something you can do yourself? Yes however since this is not a priority with most people it will get put off until it’s too late. Then you have to un-do what could have been prevented in the first place for approximately 33 cents a day. That’s pretty cheap insurance. This is an investment in protecting your peace of mind and your good name as well.

If you’ve already become the victim of id theft you can contact them for help on getting your good name back!

With the increase of identity theft, I wouldn’t put it off another day. Once your identity is compromised it can take months or years to get it fixed. Contact LifeLock today.



Larry

Bernard Pragides asked:


Are you thinking of subscribing to an Identity Theft Protection company? Given the growing crime rate of identity theft, it is definitely wise to take this particular action in protecting yourself from identity theft. Here’s what you should know before subscribing to an Identity Theft Protection company.

An Identity Theft Protection company usually offers the following services:

1. Tracking of credit report, police report and medical records. Whenever your credit card is used or whenever your social security number is included in an application form, your Identity Theft Protection company will notify you. If the transaction was unauthorized, the company would then make a trace to find out who tried to use your identity. The company will also track down any unknown addresses that are affiliated with your name and will also take a look at the DMV records in your state.

2. Alerts in case of any suspicious activity. Once detected, your account will be frozen and you will have to confirm if it is indeed unauthorized. If it is unauthorized, your account will continue be frozen and the company will notify the authorities. If it is authorized however, your account will be reactivated immediately. This is very helpful as normally the only way you would know of this is if you are already harassed by collection agencies or when you try to get credit only to find your credit rating has been thrashed.

3. Assistance in the process of clearing credit. Should the thieves be successful in using your identity, the company will help you with the police regarding warrants, as well as assist you in getting collection agencies to stop harassing you for debts that aren’t yours.

An Identity Theft Protection company offers various plans:

The basic plan usually covers tracking of your credit report and alerts in case of suspicious transactions. You will also receive notifications every time a new account is opened or a new inquiry appears on your report. Given the rise of competition in lending, note that many lenders offer this basic plan for free.

Meanwhile, in a more detailed plan, you can receive monthly reports (as compared to yearly reports in a basic plan) and counseling services. Some Identity Theft Protection companies also cover out-of-pocket fees in case you become an identity theft victim. This detailed plan usually charges a reasonable fee of $100 per individual or $150 per household annually.

There are also comprehensive plans available which covers each and every cost the consumer incurs through identity theft. Obviously, this service would warrant higher fees.

A few examples of top-notch Identity Theft Protection Companies include LifeLock Identity Theft Protection and Equifax Credit Monitoring Service. Note that Lifelock offers $1,000,000 Identity Theft Protection Service Guarantee.

Subscribing to an Identity Theft Protection company is just one of the ways you can protect yourself from identity theft. There are other simple steps you can take like being more cautious in all your transactions and being more careful with regards to your personal information. You certainly can’t go wrong with taking extra precautions when it comes to protecting yourself from identity theft.



Mitchell

John Armstrong asked:


We have all heard about identity theft protection companies such as LifeLock, TrustedID, Identity Guard and Debix but few have pointed out the main shortcoming of these services. You see, they only protect you from financial identity theft and while that is extremely important there are other types such as criminal or medical identity theft. Enter ID Watchdog, a publicly traded company, that can not only instantly identify if you are a victim of identity theft but also guarantees to restore your identity regardless if it was a financial, medical or criminal issue.

ID Watchdog scans 1000’s of databases, including all three credit bureaus, DMV, credit applications and medical, to ensure your personal information has not been exposed or changed fraudulently. Initially they develop a baseline report that you approve and then they monitor your personal information and let you know if there are any changes to your baseline report. You can either approve any changes they inform you of or in the case of a fraudulent change you just let them know and they dig deeper in to the case and will do whatever it takes to restore your identity if they find it has been compromised.

The only catch with their service is if they find upon your enrollment that you are already a victim. In this case you would be charged an additional one time charge of $99.95 and then $79.95 for every incident they have to correct to restore your identity. This is very reasonably priced by the way. If the identity theft situation happens after you are enrolled there are no extra fees as you are completely covered under their guarantee.

Recently, ID Watchdog was featured on Identity theft Labs, the most trusted identity theft review site, and received a ranking of excellent putting them in a class that few identity protection companies have achieved. The best part about ID Watchdog’s service is that they are the only identity theft service that not only protects you from financial identity theft but also from other types of identity theft such as medical and criminal. Id Watchdog also has a full identity theft restoration service. Combine that with their 100% success ratio in restoring their customers identities and you see why you have a winner. Few, if any, other companies have had that level of success. ID Watchdog has definitely established themselves as a player in this industry due to their unique and powerful offer.

Speaking of full restoration it should also be mentioned that with Id Watchdog if you do become a victim of identity theft they will do the work necessary to restore your good name. Most other services only provide you with assistance, ranging from poor to professional depending on the company, and you end up doing most of the work. Now that is no fun at all, can be frustrating to say the least, and can take countless hours on your part going through all the red tape bureaucracy. In today’s busy world not many people have time for that.

If you are looking to protect your identity, and really who isn’t given the number of victims every year – 9.9 million Americans according to the Federal Trade Commission, then I highly suggest you take a look at ID Watchdog to determine if they are the right identity protection company for you.



Ronnie

Wade Robins asked:


Identity theft is a serious crime that we all need to be aware of. In this article we look at a number of statistics representing this crime in order to give you a better idea of this crime and how important it is to protect yourself against it.

Identity theft was first mentioned in literature in the 1990’s, studies showed that between 2001 and 2002 there was an 11-20% increase in this crime, while between 2002 and 2003 this figure had increased to 80%.

The Javelin/Better Business Bureau survey from January 2006 showed that there was a decrease in identity theft between 2003 and 2006 though. In 2003 the adult victims of identity theft living in the United States was 10.1 million in 2003, 9.3 million in 2005 and 8.9 million in 2006.

Identity theft statistics from the Javelin report however do show an increase in the fraud amount. In 2003 the one year fraud amount was $53.2 billion, $54.4 billion in 2005 and $56.6 billion in 2006.

Identity theft statistics show that in Waco, Texas, alone there was a 700% increase in identity theft cases between 2004 and 2005.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that in a six month period in 2004, a total of 3.6 million households were affected by identity theft.

Identity theft can also have severe consequences for businesses. Identity theft statistics show that it may cost a company up to $90,000 or more when just one laptop is stolen. These fees include fines, credit monitoring, public relations damage control and class action litigation.

45% of all identity theft cases are caused by stolen laptops. The second most frequent problem was data leaks from records lost by third part business partners or outsourcing companies. This second component makes up about 29% of all the cases.

The Identity Theft Resource Center says that, “Studies on the total cost of identity theft vary. One study said that identity theft cost U.S. Businesses and consumers $56.6 billion in 2005.”

A survey done by the Identity Theft Resource centre in the spring of 2006 showed some frightening results with regards to phishing. Out of 309 people surveyed, 165 people said they did not know what phishing was, while only 77 people answered correctly. For more info see http://www.preventidentitythefthelp.com/Identity_Theft_Protection on identity theft protection.

The Javelin report from 2005 however indicated that offline/traditional methods of identity theft were still more popular than online methods. The identity theft statistics they gave were 68.2% offline and 11.6 online.

In conclusion, although the number of adult victims of identity theft has decreased since 2003, the amounts involved have increased, and identity theft remains a very serious crime. Most criminals involved in identity theft are still using offline methods but we should also be cautious of online methods such as phishing. The statistics themselves may vary depending on different reports but the fact remains the same, these identity theft statistics are a reason to inform yourself about identity theft and take better precautions to protect yourself.



Neil

Amanda Fain asked:


What exactly is credit card identity theft, how is it used and how can you prevent it? In this article we will look at ten facts you need to know about credit card identity theft in order to better protect yourself and prevent the loss of substantial amounts of money.

The first fact that we want to look at is that for credit card identity theft to occur someone does not necessarily need to steal your credit card. Credit card identity theft occurs in one of three ways – they can steal your card, copy the details off your credit card or steal your PIN. In the last two cases you may not even realize that something is wrong until it is too late, you still have your credit card and so don’t realize that important information has actually already been extracted. The thief may have copied down your credit card information while you weren’t looking, or they may have just noticed you entering your PIN when you drew money from an ATM and made a note of it without you realizing it.

Secondly, credit card identity theft can occur through someone signing up for a credit card in your name. They will have obtained your details obviously through some method (maybe some mail stolen out of your postbox) and all they do is give a change of address, sign up for a new card and start spending on it. When they don’t pay it is you the credit card issuer will be contacting and you will suddenly find yourself faced with masses of debt that someone else has accumulated on their spending sprees.

No one is ever 100% secure from credit card identity theft. Unfortunately there will always be credit card identity theft and people who do this are very sneaky and know what they are doing. Also, the fact that identity theft may occur through simply through stealing mail you never know when this may happen. The best you can do is to put systems in place to help protect yourself and be ready to take action if anything should occur. For more info see http://www.preventidentitythefthelp.com/Identity_Theft_Shield/

Another interesting fact is that currently most credit card identity theft is happening in stores and not over the internet. Many people feel that giving out your credit card details over the internet is insecure, but what they may not realize is that you are actually more likely to have your credit card details stolen in stores than over the internet. This does not mean that you should be careless with your details on the internet, but simply that you should be just as careful at stores.

Lastly, identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world. One of the categories of identity theft is credit card identity theft and as such it is important that you learn as much as you can about this subject and what you can do to protect yourself.

In conclusion, identity theft and credit card identity theft as a part of that, is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world. Credit card identity theft can occur in a number of ways and no one is ever 100% secure from being a victim of credit card identity theft. As such it is important that everyone learn as much as possible about this subject in order to be able to protect themselves.



Cheryl

Bernard Pragides asked:


You must be hearing that every year number of identity theft victims has been rising exponentially. There are already millions of identity theft victims so far. With “Nobody is spared” situation, you are as much likely as anybody else. As you can not ignore the possibility of your identity theft, you are left with two ways either to protect your identity yourself or hire professional service in this regards.

What Statistics says?

It is claimed that the identity theft is the fastest growing crime. It is worldwide but more prevalent in developed countries. Considering details of USA for year 2006 only, there were close to 10 million people were victimized fro their identity theft. You can compare it with figures of year 2004 to find that the number of victims has grown almost 10 times. The striking fact of the identity theft report shows in most of the cases the thief comes out to be a relative or a friend of victim. On an average identity victim loses around $500. If you are lucky, you may not pay anything as most companies no longer hold customer you accountable for any charges made through identity theft. At the same time you should not feel sheltered from statistic only as you can be the ‘unfortunate’ to lose much more in some worst situations. Statistics also warn that with the continuous changes in the cases of identity theft, you can not fully assured by the companies providing identity theft protection service.

What is offered under ‘Identity theft protection service’?

1. Tracking of credit report, police report, medical records 2. Alert in case any suspicious activity shows up 3. Assistance in the process of clearing credit through financial formalities

While you are seeking assistance from the company, the company may require some sensitive information from you.

Different plans offered for Identity Theft Protection

The basic of all plans is “Tracking of credit report & alert in case suspicious transactions” Some companies offer basic service while some offer in-depth service.

• Under the basic plan you will receive alert whenever there is a new account is opened or a new inquiry appears on your report. You can get this basic plan free from many lenders.

• More detailed plan for identity theft protection – you are charge a fee: This plan includes monthly reports (against yearly report in basic plan) and counseling services. Some companies also cover of out-of-pocket fees in case you fall victim to identity theft.

• There are also comprehensive plan available which covers each & every cost consumer incur through identity theft. Obviously these plans charge much higher fees.

With all this information, you will be in a better position to decide if you should pay for identity theft protection or just being careful is sufficient.



Scott