I totally agree, businesses do ask for more information than necessary, and they have for quite a long period of time. Identity Theft has reached epidemic proportions since the 90's, but this is a crime that has always been with us. In fact the branches of the government couldn't routinely function without hijacking IDs. They call it the "witness protection program." That's one of the reasons this crime was basically a slap to the wrist type of punishment, because most people using another person's information (whether living or dead) did so in order to hide-out and wouldn't DREAM of committing a crime or doing anything else to draw attention to themselves.
They used to publish books on how to vanish without a trace. Think of all the abused women who would flee in the middle of the night with nothing but the clothes on their backs - We have countless people living under assumed Identities for their own safety, but as with all things the information got to the wrong people & it spread like a virus.
I personally think the spread of IDT became more prevasive with better graphics programs, scanners, and printers - because now you could reproduce flawless documents without the risk of exposure.
The most important FACT to understand is that you cannot PREVENT Identity Theft. What we can do is take the necessary steps stated to PROTECT ourselves. None is more important than monitoring our credit report. There are a number of products on the market that do just that, including, some homeowners insurance coverage, that you can add for $15 to $20 per month.
All I'm saying is...This crime REQUIRES you to be PROACTIVE not reactive. You can't wait for the next month's bank or brokerage statements or for your yearly Credit Report, free or not. In fact Barry Elliott, Detective Staff Sergeant with the Ontario Provincial Police and founder of PhoneBusters, says, "There is a misconception among consumers that they can prevent identity theft altogether, consumers cannot prevent identity theft. They can only prevent criminals from using their personal information for financial gain by rendering the information useless to fraudsters. The best way to do that is to monitor their credit 24-7."
We Appreciate You,
Dawn & Derrick
Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves -- to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today.~Stewart B. Johnson
The Problem: The Federal Trade Commission reports American spent close to 300 million hours repairing the damage ID theft causes.
How Identity Theft Shield Could Help ChoicePoint Victims and Others Like Them
North Bergen, N.J. Feb. 18 -- In the next few days, 145,000 consumers across the United States will be warned, or have been already, that their personal information has been compromised due to a massive theft of information from ChoicePoint, Inc., a leading consumer information collection company.
If any of these 145,000 people were customers of Identity Theft Shield - they would be able to access 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, all the services available to victims.
By accessing real-time credit reports, placing consumer notices and/or fraud alerts, and notifying creditors before the situation turns into a full-blown identity theft. The hours, frustration, and money Identity Theft Shield can
save are countless.
Responding quickly when personal information has been compromised is the best approach to preventing and reducing the damage of identity theft.
Identity Theft Shield gives the customer the ability to make one call and receive information about whether an identity theft has occurred due to a security breach, and if there has, have access to a licensed investigator able to help the customer repair the damage.
Identity Theft Shield is a subscription service, and our customers must be enrolled prior to an incident in order to receive service. Victims of the ChoicePoint fraud and others like it would have needed to enroll prior to
notification of personal information theft in order to be serviced. However, Identity Theft Shield's annual cost is less than a victim would have to pay for two hours' time of most post-incident recovery services.
"We are delighted to partner with Pre-Paid Legal Services to offer their clients high-quality, cost-effective access to identity theft related benefits through Kroll's fraud experts," said Troy D. Allen, vice president of Kroll Background America Inc. "Now, through Pre-Paid, middle-income families have yet another valuable product to help achieve greater financial security and piece of mind."
About Kroll
Kroll Inc. (Nasdaq: KROL), the world's leading independent risk consulting company, provides a broad range of investigative, intelligence, financial, security, and technology services to help clients reduce risks, solve problems and capitalize on opportunities. Headquartered in New York with more than 60 offices on six continents, Kroll has a multidisciplinary corps of more than 2,200 employees and serves a global clientele of law firms, financial institutions, corporations, non-profit institutions, government agencies and individuals. Based in Nashville, Tenn., Kroll's Background Screening Group provides employee and vendor background investigations, substance abuse testing, disability claims integrity programs, and identity theft solutions. For more information, visit www.krollworldwide.com .
About Pre-Paid
Pre-Paid Legal Services develops and markets legal service plans across North America. The plans provide for legal service benefits, including unlimited attorney consultation, will preparation, traffic violation defense, automobile-related criminal charges defense, letter writing, document preparation and review and a general trial defense benefit. More information can be located at the Company's homepage on the worldwide web at www.prepaidlegal.com .
Contact:
Dawn or Derrick Carpenter, Ind. IDT/Legal Service Brokers 201-430-3932
dawnanderrick@prepaidlegal.com
http://www.whosusingyourname.com
Slashdot Mirror
I totally agree, businesses do ask for more information than necessary, and they have for quite a long period of time. Identity Theft has reached epidemic proportions since the 90's, but this is a crime that has always been with us. In fact the branches of the government couldn't routinely function without hijacking IDs. They call it the "witness protection program." That's one of the reasons this crime was basically a slap to the wrist type of punishment, because most people using another person's information (whether living or dead) did so in order to hide-out and wouldn't DREAM of committing a crime or doing anything else to draw attention to themselves.
They used to publish books on how to vanish without a trace. Think of all the abused women who would flee in the middle of the night with nothing but the clothes on their backs - We have countless people living under assumed Identities for their own safety, but as with all things the information got to the wrong people & it spread like a virus.
I personally think the spread of IDT became more prevasive with better graphics programs, scanners, and printers - because now you could reproduce flawless documents without the risk of exposure.
http://www.mlm.com/mlm/user/index
Search: Articles: By number: 5115
"Identity Theft Is No Laughing Matter: Who's Using Your Name?"
I authored the article "Identity Theft Is No Laughing Matter: Who's Using Your Name?"
http://kb.mlm.com/article.asp?article=5115&p=5/
The most important FACT to understand is that you cannot PREVENT Identity Theft. What we can do is take the necessary steps stated to PROTECT ourselves. None is more important than monitoring our credit report. There are a number of products on the market that do just that, including, some homeowners insurance coverage, that you can add for $15 to $20 per month.
All I'm saying is...This crime REQUIRES you to be PROACTIVE not reactive. You can't wait for the next month's bank or brokerage statements or for your yearly Credit Report, free or not. In fact Barry Elliott, Detective Staff Sergeant with the Ontario Provincial Police and founder of PhoneBusters, says, "There is a misconception among consumers that they can prevent identity theft altogether, consumers cannot prevent identity theft. They can only prevent criminals from using their personal information for financial gain by rendering the information useless to fraudsters. The best way to do that is to monitor their credit 24-7."
We Appreciate You,
Dawn & Derrick
Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves -- to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today.~Stewart B. Johnson
The Problem: The Federal Trade Commission reports American spent close to 300 million hours repairing the damage ID theft causes.
The Solution: IDT Shield gets your valuable time back http://www.leaderswanted.biz/
How Identity Theft Shield Could Help ChoicePoint Victims and Others Like Them North Bergen, N.J. Feb. 18 -- In the next few days, 145,000 consumers across the United States will be warned, or have been already, that their personal information has been compromised due to a massive theft of information from ChoicePoint, Inc., a leading consumer information collection company. If any of these 145,000 people were customers of Identity Theft Shield - they would be able to access 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, all the services available to victims. By accessing real-time credit reports, placing consumer notices and/or fraud alerts, and notifying creditors before the situation turns into a full-blown identity theft. The hours, frustration, and money Identity Theft Shield can save are countless. Responding quickly when personal information has been compromised is the best approach to preventing and reducing the damage of identity theft. Identity Theft Shield gives the customer the ability to make one call and receive information about whether an identity theft has occurred due to a security breach, and if there has, have access to a licensed investigator able to help the customer repair the damage. Identity Theft Shield is a subscription service, and our customers must be enrolled prior to an incident in order to receive service. Victims of the ChoicePoint fraud and others like it would have needed to enroll prior to notification of personal information theft in order to be serviced. However, Identity Theft Shield's annual cost is less than a victim would have to pay for two hours' time of most post-incident recovery services. "We are delighted to partner with Pre-Paid Legal Services to offer their clients high-quality, cost-effective access to identity theft related benefits through Kroll's fraud experts," said Troy D. Allen, vice president of Kroll Background America Inc. "Now, through Pre-Paid, middle-income families have yet another valuable product to help achieve greater financial security and piece of mind." About Kroll Kroll Inc. (Nasdaq: KROL), the world's leading independent risk consulting company, provides a broad range of investigative, intelligence, financial, security, and technology services to help clients reduce risks, solve problems and capitalize on opportunities. Headquartered in New York with more than 60 offices on six continents, Kroll has a multidisciplinary corps of more than 2,200 employees and serves a global clientele of law firms, financial institutions, corporations, non-profit institutions, government agencies and individuals. Based in Nashville, Tenn., Kroll's Background Screening Group provides employee and vendor background investigations, substance abuse testing, disability claims integrity programs, and identity theft solutions. For more information, visit www.krollworldwide.com . About Pre-Paid Pre-Paid Legal Services develops and markets legal service plans across North America. The plans provide for legal service benefits, including unlimited attorney consultation, will preparation, traffic violation defense, automobile-related criminal charges defense, letter writing, document preparation and review and a general trial defense benefit. More information can be located at the Company's homepage on the worldwide web at www.prepaidlegal.com . Contact: Dawn or Derrick Carpenter, Ind. IDT/Legal Service Brokers 201-430-3932 dawnanderrick@prepaidlegal.com http://www.whosusingyourname.com