There is no doubt that Identity Theft is scary. Just imagine, a criminal can steal your identity, open new loan and credit accounts in your name, clean out your savings, ruin your credit history, and leave you seriously in debt, owing banks and credit card companies tens of thousands of dollars. This sounds like a nightmare, except that it is real, and it has happened to many. It is estimated that there are anywhere between 7 Million and 15 Million Identity Theft victims annually.
Wouldn’t it make sense if banks and credit card companies were required to contact you at a secure telephone number prior to issuing any new loans or credit cards in your name? Absolutely!!! That way, you can be assured that no loans are approved in your name without your own approval. There are some companies out there that are offering Identity Theft protection tools that essentially revolve around such idea, and are charging around $100 per year for such service. Guess what, this idea is nothing new, and it is known as Fraud Alerts. It has been mandated as your right under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, and best of all, Fraud Alerts is free! More…
According to several studies and surveys, anywhere between 7 Million and 15 Million American residents fall victim to Identity Theft annually. Such annual figures represent anywhere between 2.3% and 5% of the total population of the United States. Such large annual percentages imply that over a span of 40 years, or during one’s lifetime, it is almost a certainty that one would fall a victim of Identity Theft. Given such risk, and the disruptive and detrimental effects of becoming an Identity Theft victim, it is no wonder that 39 States, and the District of Columbia, have all passed Credit Freeze / Credit Lock laws More…
A comprehensive action plan to fight Identity Theft comprises of Deterring, Detecting and Defending against Identity Theft. Deterrence is the most important aspect of such action plan as it seeks to stop Identity Theft before it even happens. Some of the most valuable tools for deterring Identity Theft comprise of shredding, protecting personal information, and locking access to your credit report. In order to make sure deterrence measures are effective, you must make sure you have not been exposed to Identity Theft, by detecting Identity Theft when and if it happens. When it comes to detecting Identity Theft, the most valuable tool is Credit Monitoring.More…
Identity Theft is the number one crime, affecting about 9 Million victims annually, and resulting in about $50 Billion in annual losses. The I-Phone is the number one consumer product, estimated to have registered over 500,000 unit sales in its opening weekend launch, and expected by some analysts, such as PiperFaffray, to record as many as 45 Million annual unit sales by 2009.
Identity Theft occurrences increased dramatically following the proliferation of the new technology of the internet, accompanied by Computer Viruses, Malware, Phishing, Skimming and more. The I-Phone is termed as a technological breakthrough, supported by over 200 I-Phone related patent filings. Will such technological breakthrough lead to another explosion to the upside in the number of occurrences of Identity Theft?
If there is a risk of Identity Theft associated with the I-Phone, such risk would stem from More…
Identity Theft, resulting in about 9 Million victims annually, has become America’s number one crime. As consumers expressed their concerns, most States introduced Credit Freeze laws allowing consumers to lock down access to their Credit Report. Although such laws are now available to more than 67% of the total U.S. population, they still lag in the Deep South.
In the Deep South region, consisting of South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana, only Florida and Louisiana have effective Credit Freeze laws available to both Identity Theft victims, as well as non-victims. Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, with a total population of 18.2 Million residents (consisting of 6% of the total U.S. population) still have no Credit Freeze laws. Meanwhile, Mississippi has only recently made such law effective, but only available to Identity Theft victims. More…
The Associated Press recently reported that according to a government report obtained Tuesday July 10, the FBI’s search for terrorists includes searching records about Identity Theft. Such information, along with other information, is being mined, creating “a new database to assess the risk posed by people identified as potential or suspected terrorists.”
It should not be surprising that an integral part of the fight against terrorism should be the scrutiny and investigation of cases of Identity Theft. The second largest terrorist attack in U.S. history, the bombing of Alfred P. Murray Federal building in downtown Oklahoma City in 1995, which resulted in 168 deaths, was committed by Timothy McVeigh. Although at his time of arrest, Timothy McVeigh presented his real name, he had previously used an alias in preparation for committing his crime. He had rented the Van used in the explosion under the name of Robert Kling.
Similarly, it was reported by the BBC and other media that the identities of some of the September 11 World Trade Center bombing More…
The Government Accountability Office, GAO, released on Thursday July 5 a comprehensive 50 page report titled: “Data Breaches are Frequent, but Evidence of Resulting Identity Theft Is Limited; However The Full Extent is Unknown.” Unfortunately, most headlines covering the content of the report gave the wrong impression that Data Breaches do not result in increased risk of Identity Theft. Many such headlines totally ignored the last part of the report title: “…However The Full Extent is Unknown.” Many seem to have forgotten to ask themselves: if a criminal is not interested in using the data acquired through a data breach, then why commit such illegal activity in the first place?
The fact that the GAO itself admitted in the title that “The Full Extent is Unknown,” means that the report is inconclusive. If the report is inconclusive, then More…
In a new informal poll/survey published at www.CreditLock.com , the majority of respondents voted Credit Freeze as the most valuable Identity Theft Protection tool. Such vote of confidence coincides with the July 1 expansion of effective Credit Freeze laws into Montana, New Mexico, Wyoming, Washington D.C. and West Virginia.
Respondents were asked which tool they believed is most valuable in fighting Identity Theft. Credit Freeze was selected by 59% of respondents. Credit Monitoring was selected by 14% of respondents. Fraud Alerts was selected by 14% of respondents. Opt-Out from Pre-Screened Credit offers was selected by 14% of respondents. Although the survey/poll is informal, and its sample size is small, the results emphasize the emergence of Credit Freeze as one of the most important Identity Theft Protection tools. More…
There have been several articles written warning parents about the risk of Identity Theft to their children. Furthermore, some companies have also offered services to protect children against Identity Theft. One such company charges as much as $25 per year for such service, as long as one adult in the same home is a regular annual paying client (paying $110 per year). The service essentially places Fraud Alerts on the client’s credit report, and renews such alerts on behalf of the customer once every 3 months. What many parents may not know is that many children do not even have a Credit Report. Furthermore, Fraud Alerts is a service that any consumer is entitled to place himself for free with the Credit Reporting companies. Even if your child does have a Credit Report, does he/she really need one? More…
Identity Theft is often committed through traditional methods such as wallet stealing and dumpster diving. Consumers are also rightfully concerned about cyber-space threats such as Phishing. Identity Thieves “Phish” by soliciting sensitive information through emails or websites fraudulently pretending to represent reputable institutions. Many consumers have become aware of Phishing threats, and have learned not to divulge sensitive personal information through such channels. However, many consumers continue to divulge information they deem “safe”, or “insufficient” to possibly constitute a security threat. For example, a consumer may not be concerned about providing last 4 digits of a social security number, or other single items such as email address, mailing address, date of birth, or other. What many such consumers don’t realize is that such “insufficient” information could possibly expose them to “Mosaic” Phishing. More…
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