Time of Your Life
Breenda Wall
Identity protection
Page 16
Brenda Wall is a certified identity theft risk management specialist. She is an executive director with LegalShield. Contact her at (360) 710-1069 or mwall@ prepaidlegal.com or visit www. prepaidlegal.com/idt/mwall
• Fall 2011
Be proactive to protect against identity theft By BRENDA WALL When you read the words “identity theft,” what comes to your mind? The funny commercials where a man’s body speaks with a women’s voice talking about the $5,000 leather bustier he/she just bought, using someone else’s credit card? Those commercials, while entertaining, did a misfortune to the public about what identity theft really is. Someone using an existing credit card or bank account is called “financial fraud.” True identity theft is much harder to repair than financial fraud and runs much deeper that just your finances. Imagine if someone were to use your driver’s license information, with their photo on it, and receive a DUI/DWI. Would your bank know how to handle that? What about if someone were using your Social Security number to work under and not pay taxes? What about a
THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT your identity is to have a service that monitors your Social Security number and notifies you of any unusual situtations. identitytheftprotection.com
criminal who breaks the law and uses your information to be charged and booked. He or she is released on bail because of your good name. Do you really think they are coming back for the additional hearings? And last, but not least, what if someone were to use your medical benefits? Do you think your
bank can help you with that one? As careful as we are, we still cannot prevent identity theft from happening to us. Why, you ask? Because our personal information is in so many databases and it’s impossible to ensure that every one of them is protecting it in the manner they should be. It might be an employee who makes a simple mistake and exposes our information to others. It might be a break in, where the thieves are looking specifically for personal information. It might even be that thieves hack into the company’s database, which has happened more times than we can even keep track of. Heck, even the military has lost laptops containing personal information. Google “identity theft breaches.” See what the results are. Frightening! The best way to protect yourself is to have a service that monitors your Social Security number and notifies you of any unusual situations
that come to your financial identity. This way, if new credit is issued, or if existing credit is abused, you will be notified and it can be handled much quicker and easier than if it goes undetected for a long period of time. But, would you know how to restore your identity? The more research I do, the more I know I do not want to be the one to fix my identity if it becomes affected. I want a professional to handle that for me. You need a program that does complete restoration services. Not resolution, restoration! It’s like cancer. When caught in the early stages, it’s much easier to cure than after it has spread throughout the body. But in addition to the monitoring service, nationwide access to attorneys is very helpful and necessary. In more than 70 percent of the cases, an attorney will be needed to help handle the situation. Unfortunately, there is no monitoring service for your driver’s license,
your Social Security number, your criminal/character or your medical records. In these situations especially, an attorney is needed. And don’t forget to monitor your children’s Social Security numbers too. That’s the next wave that’s happening as we speak. Things to look for when shopping for an identity theft protection service. Cost per person or per couple: Do they cover minor children’s Social Security numbers. Restoration: Will a licensed investigator be assigned to your case to do the process for you? Or, do they “walk” you through fixing it yourself? Areas of coverage: Do they help in all five areas (financial, Social Security, driver’s license, criminal/ character, and medical), or just financial? Attorneys: Do they give you access to a nationwide base of law firms?