Stolen Identity or Authentic Self?

Somebody may want to be you despite your perceived bad habits and faults. If you've got available credit you are an attractive target for identity thieves that are lurking around every corner waiting for you to let your guard down, drop your wallet or toss out some innocent recyclable trash. Nine Million,  indicates the huge number of Americans that have their identities stolen each year, according to the Federal Trade Commission. ID theft has only been a crime since 1998, but since that time this particular crime has escalated to become a huge problem to the tune of 215 million personal records breached just from 2005 to 2007. Most crimes concerned goods or services worth $500 or less. A small amount of cases involved losses of $6,000 or more. However, not only was money or goods the reward of the criminals they were committing crimes in the name of the victim tarnishing their character. If you haven't started a program at home to protect your identity you should put this high on your TO DO LIST. Take some time to put an effective plan into action and protect yourself and your family members. Safeguard your personal data to make it harder to obtain and misuse.

• " Skimming" is when someone is stealing your information when you are using your credit cards.
• " Phishing" is when you receive an email asking for your personal information.  Your real financial institution would never contact you in such a way.
• " Dumpster diving" is someone face down in your recycling bin searching for information they can use to become you.
• Your private information is also readily available to anyone in your home.  It's a good idea to put extra checks, bank statements and credit card bills in a safe place as well as passports, birth certificates and old drivers licenses.  In fact, many identity thefts have involved a member of the victim's family.  Best to take the extra precaution and safely store your information rather than leave it out for viewing and taking.
• Monitor your credit report every year, throughout the year, with all three credit bureaus and look for signs that indicate data has been stolen.
• Report any crime quickly and begin steps to regain your data security, recover stolen assets and replace compromised cards and accounts.

All these steps will take time and you must act swiftly to alert the police, credit bureaus, banks and department stores so that they can lock down your cards to render them useless to the criminals. You may also have to prove an actual identity loss or financial loss, close accounts, and write letters to clear your name and reputation. You may require legal help as well to rebuild your stolen identity. There is help, someone who will stand by your side and assist you through the process if you have taken the time to properly prepare for this type of claim. Many homeowners insurance carriers have a product that provides identity theft coverage and a legal advocate that will help you along the way to identity recovery. Have you verified coverage on your current homeowners policy yet?