The FBI has called it "The fastest growing crime in America." Close to
10 million Americans every year are victimized by it and the costs are
estimated at 50 billion dollars annually. Many criminals get off easy
while the victims spend years working to restore their damaged credit
reports and reputations. Worse yet, there seems to be no end in sight.
"The popularity of the crime is simply growing faster than the
solutions to stop it" many experts conclude. The task of recovery is
so time consuming and tedious, multiple states have resorted to
creating "Identity Theft Passports" for victims in an attempt to ease
the pain for them as they endure the lengthy and frustrating clean up
process.
By the end of this article I will share with you the secrets of making
yourself virtually identity theft proof in 60 minutes or less (for
free). I use the term "secrets" because less than 1% of the country
are aware of these techniques (let alone practicing them).
If Americans took these preventative steps up to 99% of all identity
theft would be eliminated. However, "why" this beneficial approach is
not being made common knowledge in the mainstream media is something I
will not disclose in this article (more on that another time). For the
moment I believe the biggest crime one can commit is to not share this
information with their friends and family (by the end of this article
you will understand why).
Unlike other authors covering this subject I will not insult your
intelligence by sharing common sense tips like "Don't carry your SSN
Card or ATM PIN# in your wallet or purse" or "Keep all data sensitive
documents like credit card and bank statements locked up in your home
or office". This is elementary advice at best. The key to protecting
yourself from identity theft is to look at what the masses are doing
and then do the opposite (to say the least).
Almost 70% of Americans are now shredding all their mail and documents
and many are even subscribing to credit monitoring services or buying
identity theft insurance in an attempt to protect themselves from
becoming victims. While this is better than doing nothing it's a far
cry from TRUE security.
Study The Past To Predict The Future
Contrary to popular belief statistics show the majority of identity
theft does NOT result from the internet as most consumers have been
led to believe. In fact, less than 10% of identity theft cases (where
data compromise can be determined) originated online. In almost 50% of
cases consumers are the ones who detect the breach. In nearly 40% of
cases the criminal was someone who was in close contact with the
victim (friend, relative, neighbor, coworker, in-home employee, waiter/
waitress or financial institution employee). In then end, nearly one
third of identity theft cases come from a stolen wallet/purse,
checkbook or credit card.
More interesting, the age of the primary victim has lowered. If you
are between the age of 25 to 34 you are now the largest target for the
crime (65+ has become the smallest). The bad news is that while
identity theft nationwide is on the decline (8.9 million victims last
year down from 9.3 million in 2005) the dollar amount per victim is
going up ($6,383 last year, up from $5,885 in 2005) and so are the
number of hours victims spend cleaning up the mess (40+ hours last
year, up from 28 hours in 2005).
We've all heard the saying "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
cure". Yet, no one is practicing it in the pandemic of identity theft.
Credit monitoring is nice but only 11% of consumers ever catch
identity theft through this means. Identity Theft Insurance (according
to many experts) is even more of a hoax. A product marketed by playing
on the fears of American consumers which does nothing more than assist
them in cleaning up the mess only AFTER their identity has been
stolen.
A Different Approach
The following is a completely different approach to preventing and
protecting yourself from identity theft. It is based on the reality
that we live in a world now where there is zero privacy of personal
data. Meaning that your name, address, phone number, social security
number, date of birth (even your mothers maiden name) can be obtained
by ANYONE for a fee.
If you're one who feels this is paranoid thinking let me tell you
about Amy Boyer. In 1999 Miss Boyer had an old high school classmate
(Liam Youens) come back into her life many years later. Mr. Youens
obtained Amy's SSN and other personal information after paying
Docusearch Inc. $150. After Youens shot Miss Boyer to death he then
turned the gun on himself. Today the company tells visitors to its
website that "not all searches are available to the public" and some
are reserved for the investigative and legal industry. How's that for
homeland security?
With this "different" approach we break down identity theft into two
distinct categories.
1.) Basic Identity Theft, and
2.) Credit Hijacking.
By definition "Basic Identity Theft" is when the
perpetrator steals your identity and then uses it to obtain NEW credit
accounts for their personal gain. "Credit Hijacking" falls under a
criminal stealing your identity in order to access and use your
EXISTING credit accounts. Each type of fraud is different and
therefore so is your plan of defense.
BASIC ID THEFT DEFENSE: The best proactive defense against basic
identity theft is through the placing of an "Initial Fraud Alert" on
all three of your credit reports. This "Initial Fraud Alert"
accomplishes three important factors:
1.) Your name and personal
information can no longer be sold by the credit bureaus to ANY third
parties for any marketing purpose (i.e. credit card offers, loan
solicitations or credit pre screenings).
2.) No one can be approved
for credit with your personal information until the creditor
personally calls you at the telephone number you list on your consumer
credit report. And,
3.) Requesting this initial fraud alert entitles
you to a free copy of all three of your credit reports (one copy from
each of the three major credit reporting agencies). Please be advised
that this is an "Initial Fraud Alert" which lasts only 90 days. To
extend the fraud alert and obtain the above mentioned benefits for 7
years you will need to write to each credit bureau at the address
provided within your initial fraud alert confirmation letter
(Note: It
is likely credit bureaus will make the extended alert harder to obtain
as a great deal of their revenue comes from the third party rental and
sale your information).
CREDIT HIJACKING DEFENSE: Most online merchants now utilize a security
feature known as "Address Verification Service" or "AVS". AVS is a
security feature for online merchants allowing them to only authorize
credit card transactions for merchandise to be shipped to the same
address which appears on the consumers credit card billing statement.
If the address does not match that of the credit card billing
statement the transaction will automatically be declined. In other
words, if someone gets your credit card number, expirations date and
CVV code (the three digit code on the back of the card) the only way a
transaction can be authorized online is if the merchandise if shipped
to the SAME address that your credit card billing statement is
currently sent to.
This is what makes credit hijacking so dangerous.
When a criminal hijacks your credit they call up the banks (posing as
you) and change your address on your credit cards with your personal
information (i.e. last for of SSN and mothers maiden name) as if you
were moving. They then proceed to order thousands of dollars in
merchandise (online or over the phone) to be shipped to the "new"
address. Because they changed "your address" on your credit cards they
will bypass the AVS security from online merchants and the charges
will be approved.
The only real defense against credit hijacking is to establish a
personal security code with all your bank accounts and credit cards.
This is a form of security which goes beyond your SSN, Zip Code, Date
of Birth or Mothers Maiden Name to give you a whole new tier of
personal security.
This is a unique number or group of letters and numbers which you create and give to every credit card provider you have.
For example. The number could be as simple as "JACOB2801" which
is a combination of your best friend as child and the numerical
address of the home you lived in growing up.
By establishing this
auxiliary passcode with all your credit card providers no one will be
granted access to your accounts without it providing it to them. Since
you are the only one who knows it and it is non public it is truly
secure. I have yet to find a credit card company which will not allow
you to create a such a passcode and added layer of security.
Summary
So now with the initial fraud alert established on your credit reports
(and later extended) as well as the personal security code set up with
all your bank and credit card accounts, you are virtually identity
theft proof in under 60 minutes for free. Sure, someone can always
"steal" your identity but the real joke will be on them. If they try
to open a new credit account anywhere in the country the creditor is
going to have to call YOU at the phone number listed on your report in
before it can be approved and it's GAME OVER. If they try to hijack
your credit by changing the address on your credit accounts they will
be asked for not only the last four digits of your SSN and mother
maiden name, but also your personal security code which they will NOT
know and again it's, GAME OVER.
Please understand that this article deals only with the topic of
"financial" identity theft which is by far the most prevalent today.
However, you should be aware you also have the following "5 MAJOR"
identities in computers across the nation which are your:
1.) Driving Records/History (DMV Databases).
2.) Medical Records/History (Medical Information Bureau Database).
3.) Social Security Records/History (SSA Database).
4.) Insurance Claims/History (C.L.U.E. Database).
5.)
Criminal, Legal and Public Record databases from birth records and
real estate deeds to corporations, trusts and court cases.
Yes, we are in the information age but all information is stored in databases.
I think we are now living in the database age.
10 Extra "Financial" Identity Protection Tips
1.) Keep a list of all credit card and bank account numbers with bank
phone numbers so in case of loss or theft they can be notified
immediately.
2.) Use only one credit card for personal expenses and one card for business expenses and monitor accounts online weekly.
3.) Always send or receive mail only through secure and locked mail boxes.
4.) Never give out any sensitive information (SSN, Acct #, Pin #, Password Etc) via an email solicitation. Always type in and visit the website directly.
5.) Limit the information on your checks to your first initial, last name and address (nothing more).
6.) On all credit cards instead of signing your name write "Check ID!".
7.) Never use a debit card or Visa/Master Check card as recovering fraudulently accessed funds from these accounts can be extremely difficult.
8.) Store all credit cards, bank statements and passports etc in a secure and locked place.
9.) Never give out your Social Security Number, Drivers License Number or Date Of Birth unless they have just cause and really need it.
10.) For details about establishing and initial fraud alert on your credit reports visit:
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Jay Peters is the marketing director of Consumer Publishing Group
which publishes the "Credit Secrets Bible" (in print since 1994). For
more information visit the website.
visit their website: http://creditbiblekv.blogspot.com/#
