Are You the Next Victim?
By the time the victim finds out about the crimes the thief is long gone, leaving behind a ruined reputation and a paper trail of runed credit, debts and collectors. Sometimes the implication of wrong doing by the victim can even lead to their arrest. Why? Without knowing about the identity theft law enforcement assumes the victim is the one who commited the crimes. It happens all too often the victims suffer for years to come.
Identity theft is nothing new. It existed before credit cards, social security numbers, checking accounts and the Internet. But over the past few years it has exploded because of the ease with which confidential information is stored and transmitted across both private and public networks.
Armed with a victims personal information an identity thief can obtain a driver's license, open new credit cards and bank accounts, buy a car and get a mortgage. The bills and statements from these transactions then go to the thief's temporary address. The thief takes the victim's credit lines for all it's worth in cash advances, loans and credit card debt with no intent to pay...and then disappears.
Identity theft is a nightmare for millions of people who have become victims of this crime. Recovery from identity theft can take years.
You can avoid becoming a victim of identity theft by being vigilant. Here are some things to watch for that may indicate your are being victimized by an identity thief:
1. There are bills for a credit card account you did not open.
2. There are charges which you did not authorize on your credit card statement.
3. No bills or credit card statements arrive when you expect them.
4. There are unauthorized transfers or withdrawals on you bank accounts.
5. You receive calls from a collection agency about accounts you never opened.
6. You receive calls or notices from businesses about merchanidise you did not buy.
7. Debst show up on your credit report and you don't know where they're from.
Protect yourself. Don't be the next victim. You can be proactive and spend the time to protect your most valuable asset...your identity. But even with all these safeguards you're simply responding to a criminal act that has already occurred. Take the next step and prevent identity theft. LifeLock provides a proactive identity theft service, specializing in the prevention of identity theft rather than the reporting of it. LifeLock was founded in 2005 and is already considered the industry leader. Their job is to protect your good name. You have rights that allow you to take control over who uses your identity. Lifelock does the mechanics to enforce those rights. And they stand behind their service with an exclusive $1,000,000 guarantee.
Some of what Lifelock does you can do yourself for free, the difference is that the only thing Lifelock thinks about is how to protect your identity...your good name. Check them out today.