Protect Yourself From Identity Theft - Comments Page 1

I like everything mentioned in this article, very helpful! I was a victim of identity theft last year and now I try to teach as many people as I can about this type of white collar crime. I have now protected with myself with $1 Million insurance. Please see the attach link for details, I highly recommended:

http://www.kqzyfj.com/tf79qgpmgo36B85C5A3548759D7

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Once I was asked for my SSN at a local store where I was paying with my usual credit card. About half way through I decided that the store had no business with my SSN so I started randomly reciting digits. When we got to the parking lot we realized we forgot to buy something, so I went back to the store. Again they asked for my SSN when I presented a credit card, and I gave them a full string of nine random digits. I THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO CALL THE POLICE before that episode was over. They had recorded my "SSN" from the sale moments before, and the different number was ringing all their bells. I quit shopping at that store for that reason.

The paragraph after #10 says " You might consider providing a fictitious social security number to a business that insists on having it, but doesn't truly need it." I disagree; to me access to a site is not worth the potential consequences of intentionally providing inaccurate info. I also would not visit the URL posted here on 2010-04-02 by flora, as to me it's highly unusual for a business (*.com) to use a name or alias I can't remember two seconds after I read it. My definition of common sense may differ from yours; just be careful folks....

You don't want to cancel all your unused credit cards after 6 months of inactivity. You want to close the newest ones first. Hang on to the older ones because they add more value to your credit score.

Hi Bob, First of all I’ve been reading your column for the last six months or so and have picked up some great tips. Thanks for your work and please keep it up.

Now about the friend who lost $50 K in the identity theft scam. I’ve been working ID theft cases for years now and can’t imagine how anyone could lose any money. It takes a few phone calls and a little bit of time and paper work to straighten things out but never to my knowledge has a victim ever lost so much as a penny.

Your friend isn’t telling you the whole story.

Best Wishes,

JDN
Licensed Florida Private Investigator

It's so easy to prevent identity theft for most people, that even a caveman can do it. Use cash or money orders! Now, wasn't that easy? It's cheaper than using banks as well.

Is what you want to purchase online? I haven't found a Website yet that won't accept money orders via Postal Service to purchase online products.

Anyone know anything about identify protection companies (e.g., Lifelock)? Do they do anything an individual can't? Doyou think they're worth their cost?

Thanks Bob for this topic and for your great presentations over the years.
Here's an interesting site that may be related and off some use to folks who experience other types of rip-offs.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/Default.aspx

Best Regards

Just a question. I went to a new dentist and not only did they ask for my social security card, but also my birthdate and made a photocopy of my drivers license/state ID card. Is this usual business?

Thanks for a very informative article.

Hi Joseph,

It's possible, I'm guessing, that the "$50,000 loss" was indirect: time off work, perhaps attorney fees, maybe the cost of a good therapist, who knows what all. True, $50K seems high, but "Never lost so much as a penny" seems too low -- if you count the indirect costs.

By the way, YOU are the one I would want on MY side, in case my identity is ever stolen!

Another good practice is to get 1 credit card for online purchases only with a low limit.

Some years ago, when signing up for health insurance with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts at my employer, I wrote "Refused" in the application form's SSN field. They assigned me a private number, with no discussion. I use that number in place of my SSN number for private people, e.g. hospitals. It's been more than ten years, and no one has complained.
If you don't mind the effort, record who gets your SSN. Try to get persons' names. Tell them that if there is any difficulty surrounding your SSN, the list of names you give the police will include them.

John (April 7 comment) asked about Lifelock. My husband and I have finally purchased Lifelock protection after being ID theft victims 3 times, the last two times stemming from the original theft of personal numbers. As of now, we are notified if any spurious account activity emerges and a seven year security alert has been placed on our account for all three credit reporting agencies. We feel Lifelock is well worth the fee, and have advised our son to purchase this protection. He just bought his first house and immediately experienced two credit alerts from the two credit cards he carries: Two false charges have appeared and been turned back by the card companies.

The timing of this is quite interesting to me in that my LifeLock account is up for renewal and I was thinking, after so many years, of canceling it. This discussion has swayed me to keep it.

I handle the finances for a small company (that doesn't have LifeLock) and I can't tell you how many times we've had company credit card accounts stolen. Fortunately, we haven't lost any money directly on it but the time loss is intensive. In most of these instances, it wasn't our lack of security measures, it was those of the card issuer. Even when sticking to all the above good advice, it's imperative to stay ever-vigilent.

As to the $50K financial loss, I too must contradict Mr. Novak. Should you be arrested due to identity theft and pay bail, they aren't going to refund your bail money because you're the wrong person (especially since it probably won't have been proven at that point that you are). Likewise, the attorney who represents you to prove you aren't the criminal being looked for isn't going to do it for free. An identity thief who got hold of your savings/investment accounts can drain them in a heartbeat and even the capture of the thief doesn't guarantee return of your money. I believe a $50K loss is possible.