Identity Theft

1. Financial Identity Theft – Ask any gathering of Americans how many have been victims of idt resulting in financial information or services being compromised and usually more than half will raise their hands. Consequences from financial idt include:

Damaged credit
Credit and debit card fraud
Checking and savings account fraud
Investment account fraud
Mortgage and other loan fraud
Tax fraud
Unfortunately, financial idt is so common in the United States, most businesses and consumers consider idt resulting in financial fraud a cost of doing business. Many businesses incorporate financial losses resulting from idt into the bottom line rather than combat the crime in a meaningful way.

2. Medical Identity Theft – Medical Identity Theft is one of the fastest growing forms of idt in the United States today. Medical identity thieves can leave you with medical bills for thousands of dollars of medical treatment while also altering your medical records in a way that could jeopardize your life. But in the meantime, because medical idt has received scant attention compared to other forms of identity crimes, it can be the most difficult form of idt to prevent or detect.

3. Criminal Identity Theft – Criminal Identity Theft is everyone’s worst nightmare. Criminal identity thieves commit crimes while using your identity. Because law enforcement officials believe you are the actual criminal, you could be arrested and jailed for a crime you know nothing about. Criminal idt is the use of any form of identification to deceive a law enforcement officer or agency into assigning a criminal act to the name of an idt victim. Once the name of an innocent idt victim is assigned to the criminal act of the true perpetrator, it can be very difficult for the idt victim to convince law enforcement authorities that they are not the individual who committed the crime.

4. Children & Identity Theft – There is a growing trend of identity thieves stealing the identities of children even infants. In particular, the Social Security numbers of children are considered very valuable by identity thieves as parents are unlikely to check the credit reports of their children. After all, very few children are going to be involved in any type of credit transaction until sometime between the age of fourteen and eighteen at the earliest. Often, the first time a child or parent becomes aware that the childs Social Security number has been used to steal the identity of the child is when the child attempts their first credit transaction such as applying for financial aid, purchasing a cell phone, buying a car, or applying for a job that requires a credit check or background investigation.

5. Seniors & Identity Theft – As long as there have been identity thieves, they have always targeted senior citizens. In fact, many identity crimes, crimes of deception and financial crimes are traditionally aimed at our senior population as criminals believe seniors may be more susceptible to crimes of deception and the amount of money that can be stolen from a senior may exceed that of other segments of the population. Additionally, many seniors do not check their credit reports on a regular basis, if at all, as they are at a point in life where they are more stable in their financial transactions and less likely to be opening new lines of credit. Identity thieves know that the Social Security number of a senior may afford the thief an opportunity to steal the seniors identity with a lower probability of detection.

6. SSN/Social Security Number Identity Theft – Every day, millions of Americans stolen identities are used by identity thieves to commit crimes involving some form of identity fraud. The common denominator in most types of identity crimes is the theft and misuse of Social Security numbers by identity thieves. With a stolen Social Security number, an identity thief can easily commit crimes and financial fraud in your good name or create a different identity. With a stolen Social Security number, an identity thief can either assume your identity by using your actual name and biographical information or use your Social Security number in combination with a different name and biographical information in order to create an entirely different identity. This latter form of idt involving a social security number combined with a different name is often referred to as synthetic idt.

Because it is almost a given you will be a victim of idt at least once during your lifetime, it is important to take steps to protect yourself, your family and your business. While there is not a single method or product that will completely protect you from financial idt, there are methods and products that can assist you in protecting your financial identity to the highest degree possible.

The Prepaid Legal Idt Shield plan includes:

A Credit Report – An up-to-date Experian credit report, including your personal credit score calculated and analyzed by an independent service. You should know: A credit report and your credit score (a statistical analysis of your credit history) is reviewed by many types of companies, from mobile phone service providers and home loan lenders to potential employers.

Continuous monitoring of your credit file at all three credit repositories means you will be alerted about new activity. You should know: Credit monitoring is essential to discovering if your credit file has been accessed to open new accounts, if late payment notations are added, or collection notices have been filed. In many cases, changes of address and other public records are reflected in your credit file as well. If not initiated by you, any of these actions can indicate a potential idt.

The Prepaid Legal Identity Theft Shield plan also includes Identity Restoration. Identity restoration means that licensed investigators will work to correct damages caused by idt. This includes working with affected public agencies, like the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Postal Service and law enforcement personnel. In addition, fraud alerts will be sent on your behalf to all three credit repositories and affected companies and agencies. Finally, proactive searches of applicable local and national databases will be made on your behalf (to look for information you may not be aware of).

You should know: If someone steals your identity and no action is taken you can have serious problems when you try to get a loan, apply for a credit card or during other types of financial transactions. Creditors may also use collection agencies to harass you to demand payments, even if its not your debt. This crime can disrupt all aspects of your life. NOTE: Your IDT membership covers you and everyone in your household.

Would You Know What to Do If It Happened to You?
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http://www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/cetrisity