Wake Up From The Nightmare of Identity Theft
The overwhelming focus the media places on financial
identity theft does a great disservice to those who will
rely on the information they receive as being accurate when
it is not. To say "consumers are not liable for purchases
made by thieves" is dead wrong. Consumers don't read the
fine print but if they did, they would be aware that The
Federal Reserve Board Regulation E, warns us that if we
don't notify the financial institution of an unauthorized
transaction within 60 days our loss is UNLIMITED! The
problem is the overwhelming majority of people who are
already victims of identity theft don't know it yet. Credit
cards in our names are being opened by thieves who give an
address other than ours. How can we dispute a bill we never
got? Given our new pro credit card/anti consumer bankruptcy
laws, these debts are not dischargeable to the same extent
they used to be.
The exclusive focus seems to be on financial identity theft
which is only ONE of the FIVE kinds of identity theft. To
ignore 1) Social Security identity theft, 2) Driver's
license identity theft, 3) Criminal/character identity
theft and 4) Medical identity theft while giving the
impression that "the problem is decreasing" is
irresponsible because it is so far from the truth to be
dangerous given readers may feel the problem of identity
theft is now being taken care of and is not a danger they
need to plan for.
Only one in 700 identity thieves is ever prosecuted. This
is the fastest growing white collar crime in the world. In
fact the problem is so massive that the government has
stepped in by passing some really stringent laws that
subject businesses up to $1 million in fines and up to 10
years in jail for the corporate officers who are not in
compliance with these tough new laws that are designed to
protect client and employee personal information.
From all my investigation I know that the best protection a
person can have is a monitoring/restoration service. There
are 100s of new services that are now providing CREDIT
monitoring. They let you know that your nightmare is about
to begin and then wish you luck. There is only one company
that provides monitoring and restoration. I am happy to pay
$12.95 a month for my husband and I (not per person but per
couple) for the best protection available and it is
provided by the biggest and oldest risk management company
in the world. San Diego thought enough of this company to
hire them to untangle our pension debacle, the Securities
and Exchange Commission thought enough of them to hire them
to do the investigative work and receivership of Enron.
They were the only company allowed to go under the World
Trade Center to remove the gold bullion and during Gulf One
when the CIA, FBI and Saudi government could NOT find where
Sadam had stolen the Saudi money, they hired this company
to get the money back, which they did.
Don't think there is nothing to worry about because this
won't happen to you or even if you are a target, that there
is nothing you can do. Look at where your personal files
are kept the next time you go to the Vet, doctor or
dentist. Think of the information in those files, our name,
address, phone number, social security number, drivers
license, credit card info and medical insurance
information. If you think disgruntled workers, temps and
shady cleaning crews are not stealing your info and selling
it to those who would harm you, think again and act to
protect yourself. NEVER let anyone with an Ipod get a
charge from your laptop. They are downloading all your
passwords on all your websites. Your computer has cookies
that keep track of where you go online and what your
passwords are. NEVER let anyone you don't know and trust
attach any kind of external device into your computer. The
next time you order checks, don't write your first name
out, just use your initials. Don't sign the back of your
credit card, instead write the words, "Ask for ID" so that
no one else can use this card. Ask about how your
information is stored when you do business with someone. We
all must remain vigilant because this epidemic is not going
away any time soon.
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The author has been an attorney since 1996 and is also a
Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist who
works with individuals and businesses to protect them from
the fastest growing crime in the world, identity theft.
Everyone needs a monitoring and restoration service. Act
today by signing up to get the protection you deserve.
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