How to Protect Against Identity Theft

If you have surfed around this blog a bit, feel free to consider yourself a bit of an expert on the subject of identity theft. You understand that this is a crime wave. You know credit card fraud accounts for barely 1/4 of the total picture -- and not even the most damaging 1/4 at that. You have read a few horror stories.  Now you're ready to act and protect your family against identity theft. Where to begin?

A few steps to take:

• First of all, protect your children. Check their credit reports at least a couple times a year. Children are popular victims because the criminal can get away with it for many years before the child needs to get a loan or apply for financial aid. Keep track of your kids' identities.
• Keep track of where your family's information goes. This can be very helpful in tracking down the criminals. Make a log of every time you submit personal information anywhere, especially your SSN. If your identity is compromised, you can go back through that log and isolate suspects.
• For the love of Pete, shred every single document you throw in the garbage. Even a birthday card can give an identity thief a bit of information that they can use against you (your birthday). Holiday cards should also be shredded as they can reveal things like, say, your mother's maiden name.
• For the love of Petrov, protect your computer. Chances are that this will not be a vector for identity theft, but minimize those chances further by keeping a tight lid on things. I can recommend a good product for protecting your Windows PC.
• If your personal information is compromised -- or if you think it might have been -- inform the credit bureaus and law enforcement immediately. (That's a no-brainer, but a lot of people don't do it for some strange reason.)
• Protect yourself and your spouse by subscribing to a service like Identity Lookout. If you don't use Identity Lookout or don't like me for some reason, please use another one of these services. They're well worth the miniscule investment. (Another no-brainer, really...)

May you get lucky and never fall victim to this crime. I wouldn't wish that nightmare on my worst enemy.

Identity Theft Myths and Facts

There are a lot of misconceptions about identity theft. I'd like to clear a few of those up for you.

Myth: The main danger from this crime is a financial one.

Fact: The financial losses from identity theft are massive, to be sure, totalling $46 billion. This would more accurately be called identity fraud, though. Identity theft facilitates many other types of criminal activity such as terrorism, blackmail, pedophilia and tax evasion.

Myth: Identity theft is pretty cut-and-dried -- someone steals your SSN or credit card information and opens accounts in your name.

Fact: Again, this would be more appropriately termed "identity fraud." The truth is that identity theft takes many forms. Sometimes a stolen identity is not even used by the criminal, as in the case of database break-ins. In many cases the person will simply clone the victim's identity to conceal themselves from authorities, a common practice amoung pedophiles and ex-convicts. In some cases the stolen identity is used to obtain medical treatment. In some cases, the identity is only partially stolen (common among illegal immigrants who will use Joe Blow's SSN under the name Paco Bellgrande.)

Myth: I don't need to worry about identity theft because I have nothing to steal.

Fact: Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the unemployed have recently become a favorite target of identity thieves. Why? Because they probably will not invest the 30 cents a day to protect themselves and thus make easy targets.

Myth: If I do become a victim, I am protected from financial loss.

Fact: It is true that legislation puts the burden on financial institutions, but it is also true that the burden of proving that your identity was stolen falls on the victim. It can take years to sort everything out. How much is your time worth? Plus, as mentioned, financial losses are only a tiny part of the picture.

As you can see, there are many misconceptions about this crime. The main fact that needs to be known is that 10 million Americans will become victims every year. You don't want to be one of them, do you?

Do yourself a favor and protect yourself.

Legal Consequences of Identity Theft

This post is about the penalties -- specifically jail time -- for committing identity theft. What are the consequences for committing identity theft?

The short answer: Not strict enough to deter hardcore criminals from stealing your personal information.

The charge is "aggravated identity theft." The maximum penalty for committing it is 15 years in prison if the damages were over $1,000 in a one-year period. For lesser amounts, the penalty can be a slap on the wrist. Even for larger amounts, the perpetrator might receive probation if their record is otherwise clean.

Really, the way the laws are written now, it is a charge to be tacked on when child molesters, violent criminals, and big-time fraudsters commit "worse" crimes. With budgets being what they are, the average identity thief has to work pretty hard at getting thrown in jail for any length of time. As many ID thieves are new to the crime world, driven by desperation, they often get off with probation.

This explains, in part, the reason for the incredible popularity of this crime among the undesirables of our society. The other part is that they are so often not caught.

My personal opinion is that the penalties should be severe. If you educate yourself about this issue, you will know that the damage done by identity theft is enormous. Surf around this blog and you'll see.

Please, I beg you, protect yourself!

How Is Identity Theft Committed?

How does an identity thief accomplish the feat of stealing another person's identity and "becoming" that person? It seems like it should be a pretty tough thing to do, right?

Here is the great paradox: Back in the good old days, before Social Security numbers, computer databases, driver's licenses, credit bureaus, and all the other ways that various government and commercial entities track people, there was no such thing as identity theft. Impersonation, sure, but not the outright stealing of someone's identity. Back then, a criminal might roll into town and say, "Hi, I'm Sharon SoAndSo of Philadelphia. I'd like $20 in credit at the general store."

If "Sharon SoAndSo" looked like a trustworthy person, she got credit. Her name didn't much matter. If she robbed the local bank and skipped town, the U.S. Marshall Service might make a trip to Philly to inquire about Sharon SoAndSo, and when they saw with their own two eyes that you were not the woman who robbed the bank, they knew that that person was impersonating you.

Now things are different. We're all just numbers. If your numbers find their way into the wrong hands, the person who has them can steal your identity. The worst part? For all intents and purposes, they are you.

Basically, identity theft is accomplished when the criminal gets their hands on enough information about you to fill in the blanks. If they know your date of birth and your address, they can accomplish more than you think. (NEVER throw birthday cards in the trash without shredding them thoroughly first!) If they get their hands on your Social Security number, you're as good as toast. (Keep a record of every place you submit your SSN so that if your identity is stolen, you can give that information to the authorities to help them track down the crooks.)

I'm not going to give much more information than that for obvious reasons. Basically, protect your personal information because in this day of data mining, it is you. The IRS agent who shows up on your doorstep to audit you for income you earned as an exotic dancer in Seattle (when you live in Miami) doesn't care if you look like a nice person. They care about the taxes "you" didn't pay as you led "your" double life in Seattle.

Protect yourself. This is real.

Identity Theft Horror Stories... and YOU

Hellish tales of terror are not only for Halloween when it comes to identity theft.

The ghosts and goblins are everywhere: They're hacking your computer, working in your doctor's office, even sifting through your trash late at night, patiently putting the pieces of information together that give them enough of you to steal your life.

But you're smart, right? You protect yourself. If that nice receptionist at your dentist's office turns out to have a shopping addiction and uses your Social Security number to get a credit card, you'll find out about it fast, right? I should certainly hope so. Because if you don't, you could end up right in the middle of one of these true horror stories:

• You could be buying materials for terrorists.


• You could be buying guns for criminals who use your identity to pass background checks.


• You could be helping a sexual predator blend in to the community. (This story is VERY common.)


• You could be helping a tax cheat fly around the world in style.


• You might just find yourself accused of a heinous crime you did not commit, maybe something totally disgusting.


• You could end up spending years trying to clear up your destroyed credit rating.

Oh, I could go on, but you're smart. You get the point. Everyone knows that when you face a threat, you protect yourself. It's so easy to do!

The great thing about protecting yourself from identity theft, though, is that you are also protecting society. How? The earlier identity theft is picked up on, the better the chances of nabbing the crooks. The investment of 30 cents a day that you make in your own safety and that of your loved ones is also an investment in society. Think of how much better the world would be if we all made it tougher for the scumbags of the world to steal our personal information. Think of how much easier you will sleep at night while keeping the horror of identity theft at bay.

It's a no-brainer. Try it for free!

You Should Buy Identity Theft Protection

People who know me have asked me about this blog. They're like, "What's up with that identity theft protection blog of yours?"

And I act puzzled even though I know what they're getting at, "What do you mean?"

"It looks like you're just trying to sell that identity theft protection product."

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Well, it's just... a little crass of you. You're usually so informative."

This offends me a little, frankly. Crass? Trying to protect people from the fastest growing crime trend in the world is crass? Is that even a word? Jeez, it's not like I'm telling people they can make a jillion dollars on the Internet if only they pay $399 for my special secret "program." The product I'm promoting happens to be freakin' amazing, inexpensive, and -- I dare say -- necessary in this day and age. Every time someone tries it, it makes them safer. It makes me feel good to help people protect themselves. What's wrong with that? It's an honest dollar.

Do I want to sell you something? Not exactly. I want you to be safe, and I want to give you a chance to try a way of being safe for free. If that's crass, then so am I.

Oh, and by the way, this blog is informative.
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PS -- I'll make you a deal right now: I won't sell you anything you don't need. You need this

The Best Protection Against Identity Theft

Remember when you were a kid, how safe you felt in the presence of your parents? Everybody wants that feeling. Personally, I would give almost anything to have that feeling again.

Imagine your guardian angel, constantly hovering over your shoulder to protect you. No matter how strongly you believe in this entity, you cannot know for an indisputable fact that it exists. Wouldn't it be nice to remove that doubt!

I'm not going to beat around the bush here: You are under a constant threat from identity theft. It is something worth worrying about. If it happens to you, it will be a headache at best and a total nightmare at worst. The statistics and facts say that there is a very good chance that you will become a victim at some point. I wish I could tell you that it's all ponies and rainbows out there, but the world is full of creeps, crooks, and criminals. Those people will do everything from stealing your money to committing other crimes under your name.

You want to protect yourself from that, don't you? People have said that e-mail notifications from their identity theft protection services feel like a guardian angel sending them a message. It's like your mom holding your hand as you crossed the street when you were little. It's a great feeling!

Best of all, it helps law enforcement to catch these creeps and put them away so that they can't harm others. Identity theft often occurs over a period of months or years before the victim finds out. In that case, it is almost impossible to catch the offender. If you get a notice within minutes of strange activity, you can call out the cavalry and catch the thieves within hours. It's amazing, let me tell you, and it's happening every day now. Working together, we can put a dent in this crime that affects 10 million new victims each year.

Are you ready to protect your family and join the fight? Try it for free.

How do Identity Thieves Steal Your Personal Information?

This is a common question. Everyone should know that identity theft is a huge problem, but few understand how the thieves steal the identities of honest, law-abiding citizens.  Why would an honest person even think about it?

This is a difficult post for me to write because I am walking a fine line between helping people to prevent identity theft and giving the criminals ideas. It will be a bit general for that reason, but if you keep reading, I can help you.

First of all, secure your computer. Statistics say that only 11 percent of identity theft is carried out by hackers and crackers, but that still represents a substantial number of people.  Ten million new victims of identity theft are minted each year.  If 11 percent of those identities were stolen online, it adds up to over a million people.  Lock down your computer and be safe.  Especially if you're on a PC, you can easily protect your Windows PC from Malware, but don't get complacent if you are on a Mac. You should use browser passwords and clear your browser cache from time to time. Not opening e-mails from people you do not know is easy, and everyone knows not to give anyone any information by e-mail -- legitimate businesses do not ask for sensitive personal information through such insecure means, and you are smart enough to realize that if you've read this far.

Once your computer is secure, realize that almost 90 percent of identity theft happens in the real world. The thieves that you need to worry about are the patient ones who piece you together bit by bit. They will go through your garbage at home and at work, getting your address, family information, birthday (Don't throw birthday cards away without shredding them completely!), job, salary -- and anything else you give them. Well, they would get that stuff except that you are smart and careful enough not to give it to them.

Of course you should never carry around your Social Security card or passport because those are open invitations to identity theft.

If you fill out forms (at a doctor's office, the DMV, or bank, for example), cover your paper from other eyes.

Know exactly where you may have applied for credit or given personal information so that if your identity is stolen, law enforcement can talk to those people who had access. You will be prepared to help them.

Of course you know enough to monitor your identity with one of the very powerful tools available. This way if you do end up compromised, you should be able to nip it in the bud and go on your merry way.

If you do what I have suggested, you will make life much easier for yourself. Can you protect yourself? You can now.

Could You Become an ID Theft Victim?

Did you hear that Ben Bernanke's wife was a victim of identity theft? If the chairman of the Federal Reserve, one of the most powerful men in America, can become a victim, you had better believe it could happen to you.

Bernanke was affected when someone stole his wife's checkbook, and the thieves only took money -- a few hundred thousand dollars. They were caught rather quickly. That is what we in the identity theft protection business call "getting off easy."

The people who have it really tough are the ones who don't find out about it until long after the thief has started a whole new life in the law-abiding citizen's name. Imagine getting a knock on the door from an IRS agent saying you owe back taxes because of undeclared taxes on the tips you made as a stripper at that club in Vegas. Never mind that you live in Muncie and have never set foot in Vegas -- when a crook gets hold of your information, they can become you for tax purposes. In that example, the criminal might be a felon trying to make a new start at life but not wanting to tell their parole officer that they're working in a strip club.

Look, I know you might be thinking, "This guy is just trying to scare me into trying one of those identity theft protection products."

To which I say, "You're darn tootin' I am!" If even one person's nightmare is alleviated by using that product, I have accomplished my mission in this life. (In case you're wondering, I am a proud affiliate of that product. Everybody's got to eat.)

Sex Offenders Using Stolen Identities

The more I study identity theft in this country, the more it shocks me. If you go on YouTube and search for "sex offenders," then watch the newsy videos, you will see that in many cases, they use stolen identities to avoid detection. One guy was even working at a carnival, as in, around children! That guy was not just a sex offender, he was a career criminal with a long list of arrests and convictions. Something tells me that he is not the only person in the country working around children and pretending to be someone he is not: an honest, law-abiding citizen like you and me.

I wish I could get everyone to take the steps necessary to protect against the danger of identity theft, but I can't. All I can say is that when someone becomes a victim, they are usually embarrassed about it the way rape victims sometimes are, thinking it's their own fault somehow. Well, I hate to tell you this, but if you are not doing everything possible from shredding your documents to monitoring your financial data, it might just be partially your fault if you are unlucky enough to have your information compromised and abused by a criminal.

Here is a great article on the subject.

Why I Love Identity Lookout

In a world full of identity theft protection products, it can be confusing to find the best one. Some of the biggest players out there (LifeLock, for example) have been hit with big lawsuits and lots of complaints. (Having tried LifeLock, I can see why -- they do not give you much for your money.) Some of them over-promise, and some of them are just outright scams.

Not so with Identity Lookout. They have a solid reputation; you would be hard-pressed to find any complaints or lawsuits against them because there aren't any (that I know of at the time of this writing. They are American owned and operated, based in Michigan. Most importantly, they give you a great value. For less than the price of a decent cheeseburger, you get real-time alerts when anything goes whacky with your identity profile. The reports are simple to read, and you get all three credit reports side by side. It's an awesome product.

That's why I am such a proud affiliate. Everyone who has anything at all to lose needs this. Surf around this blog or just Google "identity theft," and you will get to know what a huge problem this is. Read some of the horror stories. If you are not protecting yourself, you are just a fool, plain and simple.

Why not give Identity Lookout a try? It's free!

Terrorists Use Stolen Identities -- Are They Using Yours?

(Note: This is an extreme example to illustrate a simple point.)

Before I knew as much as I do now about identity theft, my concept of the criminal who commits this crime was much different.

Picture when you think of identity thieves? You might imagine some acne-ridden hacker in Russia stealing your credit card number and using it to buy himself a new gaming system. That happens once in a while; 11 percent of identity theft is carried out by high-tech means, and 20 percent involves credit card fraud.

Were you aware that most victims of identity theft do not learn of the crime until months or years after it occurs? One Mormon lady in Salt Lake City recently found out that she had pole danced for money in a Las Vegas strip club. She was even more surprised to learn that she owed thousands of dollars in delinquent taxes. Someone using her Social Security number owed those taxes, anyway. It might as well have been her as far as the IRS is concerned.

The most cunning identity thieves do not bother with the penny-ante credit card capers. They can find all kinds of profitable and nefarious ways to use and abuse your good name. The most dangerous terrorist cells likely operate under the identities of decent, hardworking people. It makes it easier to stay under the radar.

A sad fact: It is simple to commit identity theft. All that is needed are the victim's Social Security number and a permanent address.

"You" could be a terrorist, and you might not even know it. Is that a chance you are comfortable taking?

As I admitted, this is hyperbole, but the fact remains that identity theft is the crime of choice in this day and age. Anyone earning over $55,000 a year is in jeopardy. Those people should by all rights take steps to protect themselves.

Do you have anything to lose? There are some powerful and inexpensive tools for monitoring what is being done in your name. You can be alerted by e-mail within minutes instead of finding out years later by way of an insistent knock on the door by government agents. If someone steals your identity, wouldn't it be great to have a chance of catching them.

Isn't that worth the price of a cheeseburger?

You should click here to learn more and to get a free trial of a great product.

How to Prevent Identity Theft from Damaging Your Marriage!

Identity theft is popular with criminals for four reasons:

1. It is an easy crime to commit
2. It is an easy crime to get away with
3. Identity theft can be lucrative
4. The economy has created a lot of desperate people who see ID theft as a "victimless crime" (which, of course, it is not)

If your identity has been stolen -- and if you are one of the lucky ones who still has a job and a credit rating to speak of, there is a good chance that it will be stolen -- it can wreak absolute havoc on your family and relationships. The financial burden is usually not yours in the end thanks to recent laws making lenders responsible, but the damage to your credit rating can persist for years. All of this stresses a marriage, domestic partnership, or engagement.

What really hurts, though, is the destruction of the most important glue in any relationship: trust.

Identity theft makes people paranoid with good reason. If charges not made by you start showing up on your credit report, dangerous lines of thinking crop up: "Did (s)he open that card and not tell me about it? Is (s)he lying to me about this? What are the odds that a random stranger did this?"

If you start thinking like that, there is only one thing to do: Cut it out! You trusted your partner enough make it this far with them. Why stop trusting them now when you need them most! If they tell you they did not open that account or purchase that item, you have no choice but to believe them unless you want to end up losing them.

Hasn't this already stressed you out enough? Pleading with creditors, waiting for new cards in the mail, losing sleep worrying about whether the identity thief is not out there doing something even worse in your name -- aren't you tired of all that? Isn't all that enough? Why add the loss of your relationship to this list of life problems caused by identity theft?

This is easier said than done, but if you discipline yourselves and decide to overcome this thing together, you will get through it and come out the other end with a stronger partnership. After you sort out all the other pains that this crime brings to your neck, your relationship just might emerge stronger, even if your credit rating suffers for a while.

So don't get too paranoid. Draw a deep breath and remember that you love this person and trust them. You need each other's support more than ever, and this one aspect of the nightmare is one that you can control to some extent.
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PS -- an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Try this protection product for free.

Identity Theft Protection Made Easy

Look, if you read the articles below, you know that identity theft is a huge and growing problem. If you are affected, it will upset every aspect of your life. There is no doubt about this. Furthermore, if you are affected by identity theft, you probably won't know about it until months or years later. That's what the statistics say, anyway.

If you have anything at all to lose, you need to keep your identity safe, and you need to realize that even if you shred every piece of paper and never touch a computer, you're still at risk. The ONLY way to insulate yourself and your family from this problem is to use a monitoring service. For less than ten dollars a month, you can protect yourself and have some peace of mind. It's that simple.

The best value for these types of products is IdentityLookout

. Try it free!

Traditional Crime Down, Identity Theft Skyrockets

Thieves no longer need to take those risks!

Overall, crime has been on a steady decline for about 15 years now. That's a good thing.

One crime (or, really, a whole class of crimes) has seen a meteoric rise over that time: identity theft. That's a bad thing.

Criminals no longer need to take big risks for small payouts. That's the truth. A burglary will net the average burglar under $500, and the potential prison sentence is severe indeed, up to ten years in some states. Chances of getting caught are high as well.

So if you're a criminal, you do exactly what a business person would do: You look for a lower-risk, higher return "investment." It turns out that identity theft fits the bill. That explains why as fewer Americans are getting mugged and shot, more and more are finding their lives turned upside down by ID theft.

Ten million people will become victims this year. Are you one of them? You might have already been victimized, and if you're not using ID theft protection tools, you wouldn't even know it.

Don't be a fool! Protect yourself right now!

Buy Identity Theft Protection Because...

...an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

If you had cancer, you'd want to find out about it as soon as possible, would you not? Identity theft is exactly the same. The sooner you catch it, the better. That's why you need to use tools to check up on yourself and your status in the Big Computer in the Sky. If someone runs around for months or years using your identity, they will create a big mess for you, guaranteed. If you can catch them in the first month or week, you're ahead of the game.

Also buy it because it costs less than cheeseburger a month.

Seriously, educate yourself about this issue. There is a very good chance that your identity will be stolen at some point. If you are not using one of these excellent products, there is a good chance that you will not catch the crime until it is well advanced.

Isn't peace of mind worth 30 cents a day? Isn't your family worth that much?

It's as simple as that. If you have anything to lose, it stands to reason that you can afford ten bucks a month to protect yourself from this incredible crime wave. If you have anything to lose, somebody could be taking it from you right now. Ten million Americans will have their identities stolen this year. Do yourself a favor and don't be one of them!

Identity Theft IS an epidemic

Ten million Americans are going to be affected by identity theft this year. You had better make sure you're not one of them because it messes up a lot more than your credit report. It tangles up every aspect of your life from your financial well being to your sense of personal security.

This blog will be devoted to helping people avoid the terrible consequences of identity theft.

I want to start off by letting you know about this site that has a great identity theft protection tool and a ton of facts and information.

Good luck to you in avoiding this. It really stinks. I'll write more about it later some come on back sometime.