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-In
2004 there were almost 10 million incidents of Identity Theft in the U.S.
Victims report spending 30 hours and an average cost of $500 to clean
up
- You could be the victim of an Identity Theft
Nightmare -
Meet John Harrison a victim
of ID theft over 4 years ago he is still battling the fall out today.
John spent over 2000 hours
trying to reclaim his identity. Approximately $265,000 worth of purchases
were made in his name in 4 months time. He is still over $140,000 in debt
and battling his creditors.
Here's a worse nightmare Jerry Eller wrote a
book about his experience titled, 'Theft, Liberty for none and Injustice for
all'
Jerry has been battling Identity Theft for 10
years. To add insult to injury the thief has been charged several
times for using someone else's credit card - the thief was only sentenced to
50 hours of community service.
Protect Yourself
Download Free ebook
This will open in your browser, select save
a copy, save to your computer for
future reference
My blog also will educate you about the stepes
needed to protect your identity. Here's a sample from my blog.
"In my
Free Ebook - How to prevent ID theft I use one of
LifeLock’s recommendations.
LifeLock is a service I pay for to protect my identity. One of the
things they do for me is to add a Security Alert to my credit file. Below
I part of the confirmation I received concerning my security alert. (You
can find the link to add a security alert yourself in my
free Ebook. I use
LifeLock so I don’t have to remember to add the alert every 90 days.)
Dear ……..
We have added an initial Security Alert to
your credit file as requested on your behalf by one or more of the
nationwide consumer credit reporting companies. This message, which will
expire after 90 days from 04/01/2007, alerts credit grantors to verify
your identity in case someone is using your information without your
consent. As an additonal precaution, we have removed your name and address
from prescreened offer mailing lists for six months. You can request a
free copy of your credit report by visiting our secure Website…………….. "
Recommended Resources
Many publications are available from the FTC
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/consumer-publications.html
An excellent video to educate yourself is available by
clicking on
video
From the FTC Website
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/about-identity-theft.html
How Identity
thieves get your information:
1. Stealing
your records from an employer or business that has your personal information
2. Stealing
your mail
3. Rummaging
through your trash
4. Stealing
your wallet or purse
5. Breaking
into your house
6. Posing as a
legitimate business, calling you and saying there is a problem with your
account - they try to trick you into giving them information
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