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Protecting Your Children from Identity Thieves

Identity theft doesn’t just hit adults. Children are especially vulnerable to it, since they have clean credit and financial histories and no background information or signature on file. This makes it easy for thieves to take out credit and loans in a child’s name. In most cases, the victims and their families never even realize that there is an issue until the child becomes an adult and pursues his or her own credit and financial footprint. Then it becomes obvious: years of bad debt, defaulted loans and possibly a criminal background. The web of identity-related issues can be ponderous and … Continue reading →

How to Prevent Identity Theft: Keeping Your Data to Yourself

Think identity theft can’t happen to you? It is probably only a matter of time, because identity theft is growing in leaps and bounds. New technologies and a more global way of doing business has made it easier than ever for thieves to pretend to be you. With thousands and thousands of databases that can be compromised, such as the gas station where you just swiped your car, and hundreds of people who see your card on an annual basis, such as the waiter who just served you dinner, the odds of not being a victim of identity theft is … Continue reading →

Preventing Cyber Bullying

Unsupervised kids and the internet are a bad combination. As a single mother it’s almost impossible to watch your child every second they are on the computer. Somehow, we must, until they are old enough to really understand the dangers it is our job to protect them from themselves. Young girls do not understand that people are not always who they say they are, that boy from the next town they are chatting with may very well be a grown man preying on young girls. There are many ways to protect kids online, the biggest being keeping the computer in … Continue reading →

Paying For Identity Theft Protection

As stories of identity theft rise so does our concern over how to protect ourselves. Many people purchase identity theft protection services, but are they worth it? Not really when you think of what they don’t cover. For up to $189 per year you will not be protected against: *someone fraudulently filing tax returns in your name *account takeovers *misuse of credit or debit cards *prior instances of identity theft *the establishment of personal identity in your name That leaves a lot of things unprotected but even worse than that, most of the “services” they provide consumers can get for … Continue reading →

Sony Offers PlayStation Users Identity Theft Insurance

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Sony will be giving a $1 million identity theft insurance policy to every person who was using the PlayStation Network or who was a customer of Qriocity. Sony is giving this to people for free in response to the cyber-attack that could, potentially, have given user’s personal information to an unknown hacker. Recently, Sony was the victim of a cyber-attack by an unknown hacker, or group of hackers. Once Sony figured out that an attack had been made, it shut down the PlayStation Network and Qriocity possibly as a means of damage control. It is my understanding that it took … Continue reading →

Victims of Identity Theft Checklist

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Have you been a victim of an identity theft? It could have been that your purse was stolen and someone used some of your credit cards. Maybe, you’re a victim of mail theft and they opened up a ton of accounts in your name? Either way, the basic steps you need to follow are here. 1. Call the police and file a police report. Certainly, you don’t need to call 911, unless the theft is in process. Nevertheless, even if it has been a few days and you just discovered the initial theft, you should still report it to the … Continue reading →

Identity Theft – Ways to Protect your Money!

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Here are the top ten ways to protect yourself from identity theft. 1. Never give our any personal information to an individual or business unless it is absolutely necessary and you completely trust them. 2. Carry the bare minimum of identification cards and credit cards you need in your wallet or purse. Leave anything you don’t use regularly in a safe spot at home. 3. Destroy all receipts and paperwork you no longer need with a shredder. This is even important even for junk mail, especially those pre-approved offers. 4. Ensure your incoming and outgoing mail is absolutely safe at … Continue reading →

Victims of Identity Theft

Have you been a victim of identity theft? Are you looking for some ideas on what to do? You have come to the right place! Let’s talk today about some of the steps to take if you ever are a victim of identity theft. 1. Immediately place a fraud alert on all your credit reports. This will hopefully prevent any further abuse, as a fraud alert requires creditors to follow special procedures before a new account can be opened in your name. A fraud alert lasts 90 days, but you can always call again to reissue it if needed. 2. … Continue reading →

Identity Theft Prevention

Crime has changed over the years, but it is still just as serious. Instead of robbing you directly of your cash, thieves now steal your personal information and use it to commit fraud or other crimes. It is particularly sneaky as many people are completely unaware they are a victim. Often it is not until your credit and good name are ruined that you discover the actual crime. The best defense is prevention. You need to start by safeguarding all your personal information. Shred all critical paperwork and financial documents. Be scrupulous with your Social Security number. Don’t carry the … Continue reading →

Prevent Identity Theft

In today’s world of computers, credit card numbers and easy transactions, a door has opened up to a whole new kind of crime. Stealing your identity in order to use your good name and open up accounts. Not only could you lose money, you can lose your hard earned credit score. Protect yourself with these easy tips: 1. Limit what you carry. Clean out your wallet, eliminating any piece of identity or credit card you rarely use. 2. Watch your incoming and outgoing mail diligently. Always use a neighbor or place your mail on hold when you go on vacation. … Continue reading →