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Children Are Not Immune to Identity Theft
More than 60 percent of Americans say they know little about child identity theft and nearly half think the problem is not very common, even though Federal Trade Commission statistics indicate that the percentage of identity theft victims younger than 18 has virtually doubled in the past few years.
The best way to protect your child’s Social Security number is to limit who has it, Sweet adds.

“Instead of revealing your child’s Social Security number, offer a business your own or an alternate identification number, such as your driver’s license number,” Sweet says. “But be aware, companies can refuse to do business with you if you decline to give them your Social Security number. In that case, you may want to consider working with another business.”

Despite popular belief that the Internet is a major source of identity theft (85 percent of the Experian survey respondents thought the Internet a likely source of child identity theft), most identity theft occurs in more mundane ways, such as mail stolen from a mailbox. To protect themselves and their children from identity thieves, parents should:

* Shred mail and other documents that contain personal, identifying information.

* Never give personal information to a telephone solicitor who has called you.

* Immediately cancel lost or stolen credit cards and bank cards.

* Beware of “phishing” e-mails -- unsolicited e-mails that ask for financial or other personal information.

* Limit the amount of personal information you share on social networking Web sites.

* Don’t leave mail in the mailbox overnight.

* When using an ATM, cover the keys when entering your PIN number.

* Monitor your bank and credit card statements and your credit reports.

* Consider enrolling in an identity theft monitoring product, such as Experian Consumer Direct’s Family Secure (www.FamilySecure.com). Parents or guardians can enroll themselves and their children in Family Secure by visiting www.FamilySecure.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

 Fighting ID Theft
What You Can Do If You Become A Victim of Identity Theft

Identity theft. It happens more often that you might realize. What with all the news reports lately talking about "identity theft protection" and "identity theft prevention" -- it's a wonder that more people are not taking precautions to prevent a stolen ID!

Identity theft statistics indicate that the annual dollar volume of identity fraud is over $50 billion a year. News reports have uncovered a growing problem with ID theft, so it's likely the total losses could be twice that amount now. Imagine how much could have been saved if people had taken simple steps to prevent identity theft!

But preventing the crime of identity theft takes proactive measures. It is more likely that people will need information on how to report identity theft. That is the purpose of this report -- knowing how to spot ID theft and how to go about protecting your credit history and privacy, and reclaiming your personal identity.

Whether you've fallen victim to internet identity theft or credit card ID theft, there are several things you must do at once to protect yourself and your credit:

  • Review your financial accounts. Close credit card and bank accounts you feel might be at risk. Transfer money to safe account. Change your passwords to accounts. Ensure you are using a unique password that thieves cannot easily guess to access your financial records.
  • Check to see if your Social Security number has been compromised. Place an initial fraud alert on your credit reports at all three of the major credit bureaus, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Each has its own toll-free raud number. These alerts stop thieves from opening new accounts using your stolen personal information.
  • Check on safety of your driver's license. Call the office that issued your ID and follow steps to cancel and replace it. Ask to have your file flagged so nobody else gets a driver's license or a similar ID card that has your name and personal information on it.
  • Remain alert for ID misuse. If you notice suspicious activity -- applications for credit that you never made, purchases on your credit card statements that are clearly fraudulent -- don't delay in filing a police report on the theft within the jurisdiction where you live, and take time time to file a report with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission).
  • If you are vicitim of identity theft, immediately follow these action steps issued by the FTC.

It is interesting to read a Gallup poll that found fewer than 4 people out of 100 have purchased any sort of identity theft insurance in the United States.

If current trends continue, criminal identity theft will be a lucrative market for identity theft monitoring services.

Always protect yourself. You don't have to be an identity theft victim. Using these ID theft prevention tips, you CAN beat the con men at their own game.

The Facts: According to the Federal Trade Commision, approximately 10 million Americans were victims of identity theft last year. Identity Fraud is one of the fastest growing white-collar crimes in America. The VICTIM is responsible for proving the crime AND reclaiming their stolen identity. It takes an estimated 600 + hours of the VICTIM'S personal time and an average of $1,495 in out-of pocket expenses to restore one's identity after being victimized.

Here is a quick review of how to prevent identity theft:


Identity Theft Prevention -

Review of
"From Victim To Victor"
"Excellent guide during a harrowing time" by Amazon.com reviewer:

"Like many, I though it could never happen to me -- But it did. Both me and my wife had our ID stolen! Within 24 hours, there were more than 20 fraudulent applications to credit granters, not to mention the fraudulent use of my credit and debit cards. It was scary. I needed help. I got this book.

"Ms. Frank takes the perfect tone: it happened, now let's fix it. The step by step directions are clear. She takes you through the process in sequence, telling you how to deal with situations as they come up. The CD is probably worth at least as much as the book. It contains letter templates written by an attorney (Frank) that cover just about every situation. It is just a matter of cut and paste for your personal information and situation.

"We are lucky, this invasion has not cost us any more than the purchase price of this guide. The steps taken have (so far) successfully proven our innocence with every creditor we have dealt with. Although I have taken a great deal of time trying to fix this mess, I could not imagine how much more time I would have taken if the letters were not already written for me.

"'From Victim To Victor' tells it like it is but it also makes clear that there is a solution if you have the patience. Knowing what I know now, I could not have gotten this far without this guide."



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