(SEE Update below) You can't stop identity theft, so you have to take measures to reduce your risk and the impact one can bring into your life before it occurs. In a more secure manner than ever, new technological identity theft protection measures can help safeguard consumers against becoming the victims of identity theft in the first place. With identity theft on the rise, guarding your personal information has never been as important as it is now. Staying informed to new proactive services can go a long way in keeping your information where it belongs: in your hands.
These new methods are redefining the steps people should take to protect themselves and safeguard their privacy and identity. They go above and beyond the typical steps that people follow, helping to protect consumers in a way that actually provides a blanket of security offering far more comfort than older solutions while also offering reliable protection. If only creditors would do their part in stopping identity theft by verifying in the first place who the applicant for credit really is, consumer vigilance would be a lot less burdensome.
LifeLock has just introduced several new high tech proactive options to their array of consumer protection services. I endorse their services and in the interest of full disclosure, LifeLock is a sponsoring friend and ally of my efforts at GiveMeBackMyCredit.com. However, it is equally important to me to further note that their sponsorship is not now, nor ever has been, my motivation behind establishing a relationship with them.
Anyone who knows me would agree: I say it like it is, and I don't hold back. I have done business this way since long before LifeLock was around. See, being a survivor of identity theft, inaccurate credit reporting, unfair credit card interest rate jacking and mortgage servicing errors is the dictator of my passion. I draw on those experiences for strength and wisdom. LifeLock has never and will never dictate my words or censor me in anyway. And they've never tried. They simply allow me to speak about what I am passionate about, and as you all know, that's consumer protection.
As a survivor of identity theft, I learned that no matter how safe you think your information is, it isn't. And no matter how simple it appears that you could prove your innocence, that isn't either.
I learned firsthand the enormous amount of time and overwhelming frustration involved in deterring, detecting and defending an identity theft. And equally important, I also learned it is essential to have a plan in place if you are not prepared to go it alone. Making various phone calls and dealing with repetitive paperwork isn't fun--been there, done that. I don't ever want to be solely responsible for protecting or restoring my identity again. In fact, as I write this, I am not sure to what other use my Social Security Number, name and date of birth are being put. You don't know what your personal information is doing while you aren't looking. Your information can be used to obtain medical services, loans, cell phones, cars, housing, employment, government documents -and more. It is often used to commit other crimes that can land innocent people behind bars.
I know the difficulty victims of identity theft face when trying to protect their identity and always coming up short in thwarting the bad guys. Once your Social Security Number and personal identifying information has landed in the hands of those who buy, sell and trade stolen information in any of the ten thousand plus underground identity theft chat rooms, it is irretrievable.
The misuse of personal information needs to be stopped if ID thieves are going to be stopped in their tracks. Among the latest available options that consumers have are the new laptop protection services safeguarding personal information even after a laptop has been stolen. LifeLock now offers their members Computrace LoJack for laptops, a premium service that provides strong proactive protection against identity theft. LoJack can track and locate stolen laptops so that personal information can be recovered and rendered useless to thieves.
LifeLock members can now also tap into additional protective services provided by the new LifeLock Command Center option. This option will alert members if their personal information is used for purposes beyond just credit. With continued reported data breaches, lack of law enforcement resources and sloppy creditor practices when extending credit, monitoring a broad base of potential sources of information that identity thieves can and do lift personal data from is the best strategy for protecting yourself, your money and your peace of mind.
Consumers can also follow these tips to prevent their personal information from falling into the wrong hands, and to lessen the damage if it does.
• Protect Your Social Security Number: Perhaps the most important number associated with your name, your social security number should be protected at all times. Never give the number out unnecessarily or leave documents that include your number lying around.
• Sign up for an identity theft protection service: These services provide important alerts for their members, letting them know in a timely fashion that something is amiss. Typically, this type of service goes well beyond the average credit monitoring service.
• Never store important account information on your laptop: If a thief does get hold of your laptop, any information that you store on it could be stolen. That is, unless you have signed up for LoJack.
• Shred your personal documents: Destroy important papers before throwing them in the recycling. Once you are finished with any documents that include any account numbers at all, shred them. Then recycle them.
• Review your credit reports: For many consumers, staying on top of what is in your credit report is the first step in identifying suspicious activity. As part of your proactive protection against identity theft, make sure you take advantage of your free annual credit report by ordering from the correct site online (annualcreditreport.com) or better yet, call the toll free automated line at 877-322-8228.
• Be aware of scams and hoaxes. Keeping up to date with the latest hoaxes and techniques criminals use to scam you can go a long way in keeping you from falling victim to any one of the many rip-offs in progress today.
• Make sure your computer is safe. Keep your virus protection software up-to-date. Avoid using unsecured wireless networks and be sure that you (or your children) don't have any peer-to-peer software on your computer as these systems leave easy access points for hackers, all providing an opportunity for someone to bypass your security and copy items from your computer, including photos, email, tax returns and other important documents.
UPDATE: Please note that this blog was written in 2010. My views on identity theft protection services have greatly changed, as did the services offered, the policies and less than transparent partnerships. In an effort to ensure these older blogs don't mislead readers, please take time to check the date of any blog relating to identity theft protection services. Anything dated pre-2012 that has not been updated, should NOT be considered as an accurate portrayal of today's informed opinions.
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