Identity Theft: It could Happen to You

Identity Theft: It Could Happen to You Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America. Its profitable, its relatively risk free for the criminal, and its really, really easy. Find out how easy at: http://wserver0.prepaidlegal.com/Multisite/Multisite?site=hub&assoc=stevenfs_80 Most of us could be the victim of Identity Theft and not even know it. Do you check your credit report for unfamiliar accounts regularly? When was the last time you even saw your credit report? Have you ever seen it? Lots of us have never seen it, and of those of us who have it is all too infrequently. Its more than just your credit that could be hijacked. I am a former police officer and I can't tell you how many times I've arrested someone who gave a false identity. Very often we catch them. Not all the time though. Can you imagine this scenario: there you are driving your 70-year-old grandmother to the store. You're doing about 5 mph over the speed limit. Most of us speed by at least that much, if not more, and so you feel pretty safe. Then the red and blue lights appear behind you and you can't believe this jerk of a cop is pulling you over for only 5 mph over. That's when it gets really ugly. As you pull to the curb and reach for the glove box to find your registration, the cops loud speaker angrily orders you to put your hands in the air and step out of the vehicle. Of course you do as ordered, you're a law-abiding citizen with nothing but respect for the police, even if this guy is going a little overboard. Next you are roughly thrown to the ground as cops point guns in your face, and grandma's too. You are dragged across the ground, roughly handcuffed, and stuffed in the back of a really foul smelling squad car, on hard plastic seats some drunk threw up on last night. You are taken in and booked on an Armed Robbery warrant. Eventually you are released because your fingerprints don't match the prints they have on file for YOU. See the real crook had stolen your Identity and had never been printed before. You've never been fingerprinted either, at least not by law enforcement so your prints aren't in the system either. The crook gets bail and skips. Now there is a warrant in your identity. The cop by the way just ran your plate because he was bored, or looking to fill a quota at the end of the month, maybe he just wanted to stop you and issue a warning. Whatever, when the plate came back with the attached warrant, the whole game changed in an instant. Sure you probably won't g to jail, but it will be very expensive to hire a lawyer and then to reclaim your own identity. Some experts estimate that it could take as much as 600 hours to fix the mess you're in. Protect yourself at: http://wserver0.prepaidlegal.com/Multisite/Multisite?site=hub&assoc=stevenfs_80 Think about that for a moment, 600 divided into a 40-hour week equals 15 weeks. Can you quit your job and do nothing but restore your identity for 15 weeks? Probably not. Even if this estimate were too high by a factor of 5, where would you find just three 40-hour weeks? Your credit can be ruined, your bank account emptied, you could find yourself wrongly arrested. Only about 5% of all identity theft cases are ever prosecuted so the risk to the crook is very low. All they need is someone with marginal credit and they are off to the races. The good news is there is a lot you can do to reduce your risk. The bad news is there is no way you can eliminate your risk. What can you do? q Shred your trash q Never leave your outgoing mail for the postal carrier to pick up, put it in a USPS box q Never carry any more credit cards than you have to Leave the rest in a safe place q Never carry your social security card q Don't give your SSN to just anyone who asks q Never give account or personal information to people who called you. Only to business you called after getting the number from a public directory q Never leave your computer logged on and walk away from it if there is ANY personal info on it q Pick up your mail from your mailbox as soon as its delivered if it does not lock There are also several identity theft monitoring services and one that will even take on the task of repairing the damage. For more information click the link below. A plan from Prepaid Legal and Identity Theft Shield will give you access to a quality attorney when you need one and give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you are protected when the Identity Thief strikes you. http://wserver0.prepaidlegal.com/Multisite/Multisite?site=hub&assoc=stevenfs_80 Most people walk through life thinking it can't happen to them. The truth is it can and does happen to people just like you. You probably even know someone who has been a victim of identity theft even if you don't know it. I recently did a presentation on the subject. It was part of a bigger event, and I was sadly disappointed at the attendance. In fact my audience was just 5 people. Imagine that a hall that would seat 400 and I had 5 people. Well they deserved my best so I went ahead with the program. For those 5 people I figured I was imparting valuable information. After I was done, one of them approached me to tell me how she'd been the victim of Identity Theft a few years before. Imagine that 5 people and still I had a former victim in the audience. A good attorney and protection from Identity Theft are about as expensive as a bottle of water a day. Find out how at: http://wserver0.prepaidlegal.com/Multisite/Multisite?site=hub&assoc=stevenfs_80