Identity Theft: Will You Be A Victim?

Identity Theft is now the fastest growing crime. Estimates are that 10 – 15 million people will become victims of identity theft this year. In the course of a busy day, you may write a check at the store, hand your credit card to your server at a restaurant, rent a car, or apply for a credit card. Chances are that you don't even give these everyday transactions a second thought. But an identity thief does.

People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years and thousands of dollars cleaning up the mess the thieves have made of their good name and credit record. Victims of identity theft may lose a job opportunity, be refused a loan or even get arrested for a crime they didn't commit.

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personally identifying information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. Identity Theft includes:

• Financial and Non-Financial Identity Theft
• Driver’s License Identity Theft
• Social Security Number Misuse
• Medical Identity Theft
• Identity “Cloning” and Assumption
• Business / Commercial Identity Theft
• Child Identity Theft
• Identity Theft of the Deceased

There are certain precautions that you can take to reduce the risk that your identity will be compromised or stolen.

• Do not give out financial information such as checking and credit card numbers, or your social security number, unless you know the person or organization you are dealing with.
• Report lost or stolen cards or checks immediately.
• Shred any financial solicitations
• Closely guard your ATM and credit card personal identification numbers (PINs).
• Put outgoing mail into a secure official USPS collection box
• If your bills include questionable items, don't ignore them – investigate.
• Order your free credit reports and review them annually from all three credit reporting agencies. Visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com or call 1-877-322-8228. This is the only website authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law.
  

Remember, no matter how careful you are, you can still become a victim of Identity Theft through no fault of your own. This is because business databases can be hacked or an employee can steal your information from a company like what happened on July 3, 2007 at Fidelity National Information Services, Certegy Check Services Inc.(Jacksonville, FL)

A worker at one of the company's subsidiaries (Certegy Check Services, Inc.) stole customer records containing credit card, bank account and other personal information. The company first estimated that about 2.3 million records were affected but quickly boosted that number to 8.5 million in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A California law firm has filed a class-action suit charging Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) and one of its subsidiaries with negligence in connection with a data breach.

On 03/14/08, William G. Sullivan, a Florida resident who worked as a senior database administrator at Certegy, was arrested for allegedly downloading the information and selling it to another person for $580,000. ...Sullivan's duties at Certegy included defining and enforcing data access rights. He pleaded guilty and was to be sentenced today. Meanwhile CERTEGY has offered to settle the lawsuit. To read whole story, click here.

To learn more about Identity Theft and what to do if you are a victim, visit www.StopIdTheftCrime.com and subscribe to the newsletter to obtain your free 46 page eBook "Fighting Back Against Identity Theft".

Remember, estimates are that every 2-4 seconds an Identity is compromised. Why take chances? Why not protect yourself and your loved ones with the best suite of services provided by the best NYSE company in the field? Educate yourself and visit the shameless plug below or call me at (909) 208-3728!

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