Protect Against Identity Theft!

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 14 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #11,342 in People, #192,037 overall

Protecting Against Identity Theft - What IS Identity Theft?

Identity theft is an expression used to stand for fraud that has to do with stealing money or getting other profits by pretending to be someone else. The term "Identity Theft" is moderately new and is in point of fact a misnomer, since it is not intrinsically possible to steal an identity, a person can only get to use it. The person whose identity is used can endure an assortment of consequences when they are held accountable for the perpetrator's actions. In many countries specific laws make it a crime to use another person's identity for personal gain.

Consistent with the non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center, identity theft is sub- separated into four groupings:

* financial identity theft (using another's identity to obtain goods and services)

* criminal identity theft (posing as another when apprehended for a crime)

* identity cloning (using another's information to assume his or her identity in daily life)

* business/commercial identity theft (using another's business name to obtain credit)

* Find out about your Guard against Identity Theft with 15 Points of Protection from TrustedID, including their $1,000,000 Warranty. Click here!

Financial identity theft

A classic example of credit-dependent financial crime (bank fraud) occurs when a criminal obtains a loan from a financial institution by impersonating someone else. The criminal pretends to be the victim by presenting an accurate name, address, birth date, or other information that the lender requires as a means of establishing identity. Even if this information is checked against the data at a national consumer reporting agency, the lender will encounter no concerns, as all of the victim's information matches the records. The lender has no easy way to discover that the person is pretending to be the victim, especially if an original, government-issued id can't be verified (as is the case in online, mail, telephone, and fax-based transactions). This kind of crime is considered non-self-revealing, although authorities may be able to track down the criminal if the funds for the loan were mailed to them. The criminal keeps the money from the loan, the financial institution is never repaid, and the victim is wrongly blamed for defaulting on a loan s/he never authorized.

Other forms of bank fraud associated with identity theft include "account takeovers", passing bad checks, and "busting out" a checking or credit account with bad checks, counterfeit money orders, or empty ATM envelope deposits. If withdrawals or checks are made against the impersonated person's real accounts, that person may need to convince the bank that the withdrawal was fraudulent or file a court case in order to retrieve lost funds. If checks are written against fraudulently opened checking accounts, the person receiving the checks will suffer the financial loss.

However, the recipient might attempt to retrieve money from the impersonated person by using a collection agency. This action would appear in the victim's credit history until it was shown to be fraud.

Guard against Identity Theft with 15 Points of Protection from TrustedID, including their $1,000,000 Warranty. Click here!

Source Wikipedia

Identity theft, it happened to me, so it can happen to you. 

And, it ain't fun, I can tell you!

Identity theft, it happened to me, so it can happen to you.

Yes, I had my identity stolen a few months ago and I can still remember it up until today. It was such a horrific situation that made me believe at first I was going crazy. My wife started to not trust me anymore with our bank cards, the bank was sending me letters to spend less and on some months letters telling me that all my credit was overdue. While I had not spend a dime extra as that I used to do.

What was going on? I was sure I did not spend the money that was gone… And, I discovered after a few weeks that indeed my identity had been stolen.

Can you imagine it? A professional security Alarm Specialist for many years and my identity was stolen. I was not going crazy, there were some people enjoying the better lifestyle for months and seemingly financed (unwillingly) by me and my wife.  How could that happen? How come I was not protected against identity theft?

It never came to my mind that it could indeed happen to me too. And, so after it became clear it did happen to me I immediately went for an Identity Protection from IDFreeze. I was able to convince everybody who was involved with this horrible situation (wife, bank manager etc) of the fact that indeed it was Identity theft. IDFreeze from Trusted ID provided me with what was needed to do proof this, recover from this and now they are making sure it won't ever happen again.

That, I can tell you this saves me a lot, and I mean a lot of hassle.

Don't let it happen to you, protect yourself NOW. It can save you thousands of dollars as did it cost me for being too late and not protected.


TrustedID Banner 300x250

Due to the rise of identity theft incidents being reported yearly, many organizations are implementing their own identity theft programs to provide citizens education to fight this spiteful crime. Since becoming a victim of identity theft can be a life-changing experience, both emotionally and financially, learning to prevent the occurrence of this crime through identity theft programs like the one from IDFreeze from Trusted ID can help you and your families live a normal and happy life without someone else meddling with your personal information.

How Identity Theft happens and what to do to prevent it 

Identity theft - Along with the remunerations of enhanced technology and more rapidly ways of being in contact, making available information and services, approaches the huge risk of identity theft. This tendency of white collar crimes has been in full consequence for several years now and has increasingly enlarged in numbers of cases as more and more people find new ways of getting hold of and providing personal information. Odds are good that you know someone who has been mistreated by the fastest growing crime - identity theft. Just a few years ago, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that there were 10 million cases of identity theft in one year. That year was 2002 to be precise about it. Yes, 10 million cases in one year alone. It's estimated that someone's identity is stolen every 79 seconds.

Why is it that bad things happen to mostly good people?

Nowadays, it really isn't that hard to steal someone's identity and the majority of people are not always smart about protecting personal information which makes them vulnerable hence, making them the perfect candidates for identity theft. Good people are often too trusting and naïve, but you don't have to have these personality traits to become a victim, it can really just happen to anyone.

The bad news is with ever-increasing amounts of personal information obtainable to a knowledgeable identity thief; it demonstrates few signs of actually slowing down. The good news is that identity fraud is now a federal crime with stiff penalties for those who is responsible for these crimes. Some more good news is that recently you are able to protect yourself against identity theft with even an insurance to be sure.

How does identity theft happen and how do you prevent it?

I am listing here some of the most common ways a thief gets access to your information and you will most likely begin to think about the many times you may have contributed to increasing the likelihood of this happening to you.

Phishing - Never heard of phishing? Well, it is not quite what it seems to sound like... one of the most common and still very effectual methods. When you are contacted via email or phone by someone asking you to please "verify" specific information related to any of your credit cards, pay pal online bank account or even your own bank account, believe me, these are the people who are phishing. You are in direct contact with the worst kind of criminals. They do not care about you, they want your details in order to steal from you.

No Credit Card company or bank will EVER contact you asking you for any information about your account over the phone or via email. They know there's a lot of risk in doing this. Paypal, (an eBay company) also does not practice this. Yet there are tons of spam emails in millions of inboxes asking for this information and very often the information is provided by people who are led to believe that these are legitimate requests.  And, unfortunately, there are people who still fall for it unknowingly. Giving away personal data to someone who is not to be trusted. A horror situation. And, you need to protect yourself for it!

One method closely related to phishing is getting that call or email that says you've won a prize, they're usually really excited and they try hard to get you excited about the bogus prize. Once they get you to that level, they'll ask for your bank account so they can deposit your winnings for you. You kindly provide the info and wait for the prize money to post, only to find out that you've just given the thief a prize. This one has not gotten old yet, it still works.


Ever received an email like these?




Take my advise, just delete this kind of spam. Dangerous stuff!


Online hackers - if you're online a lot you probably have learned a few ways to protect yourself from computer hacks. This is still a growing trend today. Many online users do not make use of the necessary technologies to protect their computer systems. Virus software and firewall software should be used on every PC you own. Hackers are very resourceful individuals and they know how to get into some of the most secure sites in the world so your Dell PC running Widows XP or Vista is no big challenge. If you're used to keeping files with credit card and bank account information on your system they can easily be found and taken.

Did you know that Identity Theft is the UK's fastest growing crime? Are you from the UK? Check your credit file online here to make sure everything is correct


Spam, Adware, Syware and pirated software - You should never open spam email, these are emails from sources you do not recognize, and often your web mail account will automatically filter. But for those that make their way into your inbox, you should always delete. Also never download, or accept pirated software no matter how cool the application. The code on the software has been modified so that it can install without a product key, meaning that the hacker has also been able to add code that can record your activities. These are called keyboard logging programs, which run in the background and you never know about. Once your typing has been recorded the program will send the information to the hacker who can use that information to get access to account logins with your passwords into your credit card or bank account.

Even when you take all these precautions, it's difficult to guarantee that your information will be secure. These are only some of the most common ways identities are stolen. Thieves are becoming more and more creative with their scams, and know that their methods only work for so long and so they're constantly coming up with new ways of getting to your information. It's because of these unknown methods that no one can be truly safe.

There are ways to protect yourself against identity theft, but most of these are merely monitoring services which are offered through sponsored programs run by the three credit bureaus.

A lot of these programs have certain guarantees but basically what the service does for you is notify you of suspicious events on your credit. Meaning that they notify you when something has occurred, and this is your queue to take action and stop the illegal activity.

As you need a more advanced method of protecting your identity, you would need to have a complete protection service that not only monitors your credit activity but stops new account from being opened under your name and SSN.

TrustedID IS such a company which specializes to secure your identity. These are more specialized services and they offer the most advanced methods in total protection of your identity.

Guard against ID Theft with 15 Points of Protection from TrustedID, including our $1,000,000 Warranty. Click here!

TrustedID Banner 468x60

Identity Theft - How Can you Prevent it Happening to You? 

The frightening experience of identity theft strikes millions of people every year. How can you keep making sure that you are not becoming one of them? While there is no complete full guarantee that you won't become a victim, there are some steps you can take to reduce the danger and protect yourself against identity theft.

Consistent with the Federal Trade Commission, some day by day tips to shielding your personal information consist of:

Click here to Protect your Identity with IDFreeze from TrustedID

* Not giving out your personal information to any strangers. Whether it be over the phone, while using the Internet, or through the event whilst using your e-mail. Your Social Security number (SSN), phone number and address, credit card or bank account numbers, and drivers' license number can be used by scandalous criminals who assume taking your identity without hesitation. Unless you know the person you are communicating with or have invited them to make contact with you, do not answer any question that makes you uncomfortable. Identity thieves can pose successfully as agents from banks, credit card companies, Internet service providers, utility companies, or government offices, you name it, they possibly are using it as a trick. If someone calls claiming to represent a legitimate organization, confirm this by calling the customer service number listed on your statement or bill. Check out whether or not these are genuine calls BEFORE giving any information.

* Don't send personal credit card details by email. Period.

* Always monitoring the balances on your checking, savings, or other monetary accounts. Keep an eye out for mysterious charges or withdrawals made without your authorization. Carefully reading your monthly bank and credit card statements, then checking the amounts aligned with your check register or other record-keeping technique could catch a thief in the act of assuming your identity and spending your hard-earned cash.

* Keeping track of your billing cycles. If your credit card statement doesn't arrive at its usual time, this could signal an address change by an identity thief.

* Storing your Social Security card someplace other than your purse or wallet. Provide your SSN only when necessary, and ask to substitute another number if your state uses your SSN on your drivers' license.

* Carrying only the credit or debit cards you need. Leave other identifying cards at home.

In addition to the everyday precautions that can minimize your risk, there are some other actions you can take to improve your safety:

* Safeguard the information on your computer by updating your virus protection plan on a regular basis, using a firewall to keep hackers from accessing your files, and deleting any personal information on your computer before you dispose of it using a "wipe" utility program that clears the hard drive. Never download a file from someone you don't know, and do not open e-mails from an unfamiliar sender; doing so could expose your computer to a virus. Finally, when submitting personal information over the Internet, look for the "lock" icon on the status bar to know that your browser is secure.

* Find a safe place for your purse or wallet while you're at work. Ask about the policy your office has for securing your personal information, such as who has access to it, where it is stored, and how it is disposed of when you leave.

* Every year, order a copy of your credit report from the three different credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Check for the accuracy of each and correct any discrepancies. You may be charged for the report, but the savings you receive in peace of mind is well worth the fee.

* Clean up any credit damage as soon as you possibly can. Errors in reporting alone happen often, some estimates are as high as 62% of the information on a credit report may be inaccurate. That doesn't even begin to cover situations such as identity theft which is a serious problem on the rise in the U.S. You can consult a Credit Damage expert if you suspect that your credit has been accessed or used in any way without your permission. That includes companies running a simple inquiry without you saying they can.

* Get protection against Identity theft that works. Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in America. Protecting yourself and everything you've worked hard to build is one of the most important things you can do. IDFreeze® makes it easy.

IDFreeze® offers Not Your Typical Identity Theft Solution.


IDFreeze delivers a across-the-board protection system that helps detect and stop identity theft before it happens. Many identity theft protection services today offer credit monitoring. While this is accommodating, it does little to make certain that your identity is protected previous to when a theft takes place. IDFreeze scans the black market Internet to see if your information has been compromised; proactively protects your Social Security number and financial accounts; helps you safeguard your medical benefits and more - for you and your family.

IDFreeze will help you to:

* PREVENT anyone from using your Social Security number to commit fraud

* DETECT the sale of your account numbers on the Internet

* STOP anyone from using your identity to get credit

Click here to Protect your Identity with IDFreeze from TrustedID


Protect your Children from Identity Theft 

family plan protection provides coverage for all your family members, including your spouse, parents, children, and other relatives living in your household

By now you will know that identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States, but you probably don't realize that the fastest growing segment of identity theft is sadly enough your and my children.

Some shocking news was reported by the FTC. The FTC reports that 5% of the 255,000 victims of identity theft in 2005 where below the age of 18 which is up 40% from 3% in 2003. Most of these cases come to pass very early on with over half taking place prior to the age of 6 according to the Identity Theft resource Center.

Consciousness of the problem by our kids and us seems to be the biggest problem in helping to prevent child identity theft.  A current Experian-Gallup poll found that 68% of respondents had heard insignificant or nothing about identity theft crimes against our children.  But, that doesn't mean that our children aren't falling victim to these rude identity thieves at a speedy tempo.  That same poll found that 7% of the respondents knew of a child that had already been victimized by identity theft.

Identity theft crimes carried out against children can be predominantly debilitating because it is often years or decades after the crime took place that the victim becomes aware of this.  These are some unpleasant surprises I can tell you.  Just imagine, people having had loans and credit cards on your name for years and you find out they build up thousands of dollars in debt and nothing to be done about it than to pay for those debts it seems.

There are hundreds of accounts of adults who have attempted to apply for their first line of credit only to find that their identity had been stolen years earlier while they were juvenile and, as a result, their credit was smashed before they even had a chance start practicing healthy credit habits.

Regrettably, identity theft crimes against children can be hard to trace down because children don't apply for credit or review a credit report to identify apprehensive activity. That being said, there are steps that we as parents can take to lower the risk of their kids becoming victims of identity theft to an absolute minimum. Apply now for IDFreeze from TrustedID and protect your whole family at once!

First, keep social security cards out of your kid's hands. In fact, no one in your family at any age should be carrying a social security card. We recommend that you keep all of your family's sensitive documents in a home safe, safety deposit box or at least a locked filing cabinet.

Next, keep a look out for any suspicious mail that arrives at your house in your child's name. If credit card offers, late payment notices or other suspicious items show up, don't assume they are mistakes. Follow up with the company that sent them to determine the reason they were sent in the first place.

Finally, your entire family should be protected by a proactive identity theft prevention service like IDFreeze from TrustedID.  These services, such as LifeLock or IDFreeze from TrustedID, will monitor activity on your credit report and help prevent identity thieves from making victims of you or your children.

IDFreeze® family plan protection provides coverage for all your family members, including your spouse, parents, children, and other relatives living in your household.


Click here for Peace of Mind from TrustedID!


Always be sure to be safe!

Why You Need Identity Theft Protection 

hy do you need protection from identity theft? Now that you understand how easy it is for someone to steal your identity then you will have no doubt in your mind why you need some serious identity theft protection.

You see, for someone with pretty sick intentions getting a hold of just a small amount of information can be completely and utterly damaging to you. Such items of information are simple things, like your name, address and your date of birth as well as your telephone number, and of course the "big mama" piece of information, your Social Security number.

Perhaps some info about your parents too, the name of your pet and people who want to may easy get hold of things you do not want them to. And, they are never friendly enough to leave it as it is. No, they are out to profit from this without you knowing it. They will thieve you as long as they can, pretending to be you.

This type of information is found daily by going through your trash or obtaining the information from you. You should also keep in mind that statistics have shown that at least half of the victims of identity theft knew the person who stole their identity.

Therefore, it is in your best interests to keep an eye out on your identity if someone holds some type of resentment against you as well as anyone who seems a bit nosy for getting personal information from you, and you should never trust your personal information to anyone you know is an addict of any kind.

America's Identity Theft Protection Company 

Trusted ID

Identity theft online with the Internet is being heard of more and more in recent times, as people are becoming less and less careful with their own personal information. But as the Internet becomes more and more of our regular online lives, the more we need to protect our personal information so that we do not become easy targets for identity theft.

Protect your entire family with TrustedID for one low price.

Credit Deal 

Information on Credit, Credit Reports and Identity Theft

Loading Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

Reader Feedback 

instantpayday wrote...

Awesome lens, very helpful product.
Protecting your identity is like having an instant payday

ReplyPosted March 09, 2009

mrsjordanjr wrote...

Great page. 5 stars!

ReplyPosted January 31, 2009

KimGiancaterino wrote...

Great lens! Someone in the U.S. made charges to one of our credit cards while we were in Europe. Luckily we had more than one with us, because we weren't able to use our own card while the situation was under investigation. They caught the person, but it was a long process. It can happen to anyone. Angel Blessings to you.

ReplyPosted September 26, 2008

MiaBellezza wrote...

Great lens on Identity Theft! 5*

ReplyPosted September 04, 2008

Michaud68 wrote...

Great Information on identity theft 5*****

ReplyPosted September 03, 2008

 
1 of 2 pages

Books on Identity Theft Protection 

Stopping Identity Theft: 10 Easy Steps to Security

Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 07/10/2009) Buy Now

Identity Theft Handbook: Detection, Prevention, and Security

Amazon Price: $60.00 (as of 07/10/2009) Buy Now

Identity Theft: Reclaiming Who God Created You to Be

Amazon Price: $14.81 (as of 07/10/2009) Buy Now

Identity Theft Investigations

Amazon Price: $26.37 (as of 07/10/2009) Buy Now

Google HijackGoogle Conquest 

Google Conquest

Google Conquest

Loading Fetching RSS feed... please stand by