Do You Know Where Your Identity Is Today?

Years ago most Americans could have answered that question with a definite yes. Nowadays you have to take a pause. The truth is you really don’t know unless you monitor it yourself or hire a company to do it for you. Let me dispel the number one myth I hear all the time and I believed it too “Identity theft is only about your Credit!” In fact, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) Annual Sentinel Study says that only 16.5% of identity theft is detectable on a credit report. There are six major areas of ID theft:

  • Driver’s License
  • Medical
  • Criminal/Character
  • Employment/SSN/IRS
  • Minor Children
  • Credit

The growing problem of identity theft has affected millions of Americans, including Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, and Tiger Woods. Currently there are over 27,000 identity theft victims every day in the U.S. The FBI reports that identity theft is now the fastest growing crime in America. Chances are it has hurt you or someone you know.

There is a more disturbing trend, Id thieves are targeting minor children. Think about it, how often do you check your child’s credit history? Imagine saying  my son’s car was repossessed, home has been foreclosed and he owes child support. Oh, by the way he turns 7 years old next month! Tragically, scenarios similar to this one are playing out across America.

We’ll talk about what identity theft is, how it happens, what you can do to defend against it, types of solutions and where you can learn more.

I want to start by showing you a brief  2:43 minute CNN news report on Medical Identity Theft.

(click on the video below)

So, identity thieves can do a lot of damage…Id theft can be devastating, frustrating and as you saw in the video even life threatening!

Unfortunately, there are a lot of ways Id Theft can happen, from sophisticated computer hacking to low-tech “dumpster diving” into your trash, to old-fashioned stealing your wallet or purse:

• Dumpster Diving—Going through your trash.

• Skimming—Storing your credit card number in a special storage device when processing your card.

• Phishing—Pretending to be a financial institution and sending scam alerts to get your personal information.

• Changing Your Address—Completing a change of address form to get your mail and personal statements.

• Stealing—Taking your purse, wallet, mail, pre-approved credit cards, new checks, personnel files from work, or tax information.

While there are no ways to absolutely guarantee you’ll never be a victim of identity theft, there are ways to minimize your risk. By following the “Tips to avoid ID Theft.” We can all make it more difficult for thieves to walk away with our identities.

You have to be proactive to minimize the effects of Id Theft. Today there are several types of identity theft protection plans, most of which boast big claims of protection, but be careful of what kind of plan you are offered. Here is a brief summary of the different types of protection plans that are available in the market today:

Monitoring Plans
Credit Monitoring is the single best method to detect financial identity theft, but credit
monitoring plans typically do not provide restoration of a victim’s identity.

Reimbursement Plans
Under these types of plans victims may get reimbursed for their out-of-pocket expenses, but still have to do all or most of the restoration work themselves.

Fraud Alert Services
Some services offer to put a Fraud Alert on your Credit Report. This may help to prevent Financial ID Theft, but not any other area. Also in a recent study, victims reported that Fraud Alerts were ignored in one out of every five cases!

Restoration Plans
Restoration plans assist in actually restoring a victim’s identity. While some plans only offer telephone assistance, the best plans are the ones that offers the member an opportunity to sign a limited power of attorney, thus allowing the licensed fraud specialists to restore the victims’ identities on their behalf! The result? The member spends substantially less time and money in the process of restoration. When you becomes a victim of identity theft, you will normally also encounter legal issues as well, and access to an attorney 24/7 may be critical.

By bundling LegalShieldSM and Identity Theft ShieldSM, you have created  one of the most comprehensive Identity Theft solutions on the planet!

IDENTITY THEFT SHIELDSM

Credit Report
Each member and his or her spouse receive an up-to-date credit report through Experian at no additional cost. The report includes their credit score and a detailed analysis of their score.

Continuous Credit Monitoring
Kroll monitors activity on an individual’s credit file. Notifications or alerts are issued in the event of any of the following:

  • New accounts have been opened
  • Derogatory notifications have been added
  • Public records have been added
  • Inquiries have been made
  • A change of address has been requested

In addition, if no credit activity is detected, Kroll sends every member a monthly email indicating “no activity in their credit file.”

Identity Restoration
Identity theft can be devastating, and the process of restoring a person’s name can be overwhelming and costly. The Identity Theft ShieldSM provides more than a “do it yourself” information packet. With the Identity Theft ShieldSM, a trained expert will take the steps to restore the member’s name and credit! This includes a fraud alert notification being sent on the member’s behalf, and applicable follow up will be done with affected agencies and institutions, including: credit and credit card companies, financial instructions, all three credit repositories, Social Security Administration, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Motor Vehicles, law enforcement personnel, and the U.S. Postal Service. A team of trained professionals will assist to restore a member’s identity, which may include working with the above agencies and institutions until the member’s identity has been completely restored.

Safeguard For Minors                                                                                                               As an add-on to your Identity Theft ShieldSM, this service provides valuable Identity Theft ShieldSM services for your dependent children under 18 years of age. A child’s clean credit history and the fact that it will be years before they apply for credit, make them prime targets for identity theft. The service monitors for the existence of a credit file in your child’s name, and also includes valuable safeguarding, consultation, and restoration services.

LEGALSHIELDSM

Identity theft  will most likely turn into a legal issue.  LegalShieldSM offers a comprehensive legal plan with twenty four-hour access to an attorney. If  you have a warrant issued for your arrest  because someone committed a crime in your name you’ll definitely need to talk to an attorney and LegalShieldSM gives you the ability to talk to an attorney on any matter without worrying  about high hourly cost for one flat monthly fee you can access legal advice no matter how dramatic or trivial the issue.

Do it yourself

I left DIY last because its the least attractive option. You will have to be a pretty hard core DIYer  to take this on yourself. The FTC states that it take about 600 hours and over $1500.00  to clean up the mess ID Thieves theft leaves. Go here

Being proactive is the best way to protect yourself and have a peace of mind. Click here to get more info and enroll.

If you have any questions leave me a comment and I will promptly reply. Please “like” and “share” if you found this blog useful in anyway! Thank you.

Albert Greer
Independent LegalShieldSM Associate
Contact me at: Albert.Greer.us@gmail.com                                                                             

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