Identityfraudresources.com

Id Fraud Is Not A Faceless Crime.

The good news is, victims of identity theft do have resources available to diminish their losses.

Setting out “to prevent identity theft” is nothing but a pipe dream. Some companies promote identity protection plans that outline steps to prevent identity fraud.  Please don’t be distracted by this.  You or no one else for that matter can prevent this crime.

Why it’s referred to as a “faceless” crime is lost on us. Behind every single case of id fraud is a real person with a real identity, who will be subjected to very real consequences. Credit theft and social security fraud can literally devastate a household. Some types of insurance fraud can land an individual in the middle of criminal proceedings, regardless or not if the crime was committed by someone else using their personal information. The burden of proof is on you.

7 Signs Of Identity Theft

In order to put any measure of identity fraud protection in place, you must be able to read the signs that accompany the crime. We’ll list 7 of those below, but remember, this list is not all inclusive.

• You receive a letter of notification from a financial institution denying or approving a credit application you did not request.
• Your credit card or bank statements are late or don’t come at all
• Strange charges show up on your statements, even though you didn’ t purchase them
• Collection agencies call or sends you mail concerning accounts that you never opened
• Credit cards you requested never arrive
• You start receiving telephone, utility and/or credit card bills in your name
• Your Social Security Personal Earnings and Benefits Estimate Statement arrive and there are inaccuracies (i.e. inflated earnings)

Any one of these signs should trigger an alert in your mind. Bank fraud cases and credit theft are easier to spot than non-financial clues, however, with a little bit of knowledge, they all become apparent.

Every time you receive a statement or other types of personal information in the mail, make it a habit to look for inaccuracies. Misspellings, wrong addresses, out of state companies where purchases were made, everything. They all could indicate that you are the latest victim of identity theft.

This does not take the amount of time you might find unacceptable, however, any time spent doing this is time well spent. Besides, after doing it a few times it becomes a habit and you’ll start doing it unconsciously.

Identity Fraud Protection

After learning how to see the signs, your next step is to educate yourself about the different types of services that propose to help protect your identity.

Not all identity theft protection services are created equal. This should be no big surprise. You’ve seen the commercials on television and in print. Citibank and Lifelock cornered the “television commercial” market early on in the game. The question is, does their product match up to their marketing? You must decide this.

One product that we recommend is the Identity Theft Shield. The companies that provide this plan has been in the Idtheft and Identityfraud game from the very beginning, quietly servicing their customers. Customers who all  come as a result of word-of-mouth marketing by the way. Read about them, then visit the site and again, you decide.

This crime has been called “The Crime Of The Century” for good reason. It usually strikes without warning and leaves deep scars on individuals and families, financially and sometimes mentally. It would be in your best interest not to treat identity fraud lightly. Begin with education. Our website is the perfect starting place.