LifeLock » avoid identity theft http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:26:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc en hourly 1 Identity theft protection http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/identity-theft-protection/ http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/identity-theft-protection/#comments Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:59:15 +0000 admin http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/?p=880

Identity theft and tax season

It’s tax season. It’s an annual occurrence, happening at the same time of year, every year. And in observance, here’s our annual phishing, scamming and identity theft warning with tips for avoiding getting taken to the cleaners … by anyone but the IRS.

Your mailbox

  • If you don’t already have one, buy a locking mailbox before your W2 is delivered. Just think how easy it is to commit identity theft with just that one piece of stolen mail.

  • If you’re going to mail in your tax return, don’t leave it in your mailbox. Instead, mail it from the post office or US Postal Service mailbox.
  • Employers are required to send W2s by January 31. If you haven’t received yours within a few days after that date, call your employer to confirm it was mailed. If so, immediately order a credit report to see if you’re already an identity theft victim. Contact the IRS to alert them that your W2 may have been stolen.

Your phone

  • The IRS would never call you asking for personal information regarding your taxes – that would be too fast and easy. If someone calls under this pretense, it’s a sure bet they’re vishing and are bent on identity theft.

Your computer

  • Most people files their taxes over the Internet, leaving millions of people vulnerable to phishing scams. Just like the IRS would never contact you by phone requesting your personal or financial information, it would never email you asking for it either.
  • Scammers often include a “click here” link within their emails. Never click on it. If you do you’ll likely be led to a website that will deliver spyware to your computer to commit identity theft.
  • Using file-sharing software leaves your computer and all the information on it wide open to identity theft. If you share your computer with other people, make sure they know not to install file-sharing software for music or movie downloads.
]]> http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/identity-theft-protection/feed/ 0 St. Rita’s Medical Center patients’ info stolen http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/st-ritas-medical-center-patients-info-stolen/ http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/st-ritas-medical-center-patients-info-stolen/#comments Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:13:16 +0000 admin http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/?p=213

It would have been just another run of the mill car break in, except this particular violated car belongs to a home-health care employee from St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima, Ohio. In the car was a bag, and in the bag was the personal and medical information of 242 St. Rita’s patients.

So, what this means is that somewhere there is a cretin who is in possession of the patients’ names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, patient ID numbers. For some patients the identity theft threat is even greater because their Social Security numbers were also in the stolen bag. And for some, the privacy violation is even worse because their case managers’ and physician’s names and the details of their treatment were also stolen.

Let’s try to make something positive and hopeful of this, shall we?

One lesson we can all take away from this despicable crime is that identity theft and privacy violations can happen to anyone and in myriad manners. We can’t trust the people storing our information to safeguard it responsibly, so we must proactively protect ourselves, even if it means availing ourselves of professional expertise like that of identity theft protection services.

And, we can hope that St. Rita’s has also learned from what will no doubt be an expensive lesson. First of all, their employee should never have been carrying around the files of 242 patients; surely she wasn’t planning to see them all in a single day, so the excess files should have been stored securely in her office.

Secondly, those files should have been digitized, encrypted and stored on a password-protected laptop. Thousands upon thousands of laptops are stolen every year, but few low-life criminals have the skills to access the data within them.

Visit LifeLock.com to learn more about your options for protecting your identity. If you decide to enroll in their program, use the LifeLock promotion code DEFENSE for the lowest price and 30 days of free service.

At the end of the 30-day free period, your card will be automatically billed $9 monthly unless you cancel within that first 30-day period. You can cancel anytime without penalty by calling 1-800-LIFELOCK. This offer is for new LifeLock members only.

]]> http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/st-ritas-medical-center-patients-info-stolen/feed/ 1 Bounced check notice? It might be an identity theft ploy. http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/192/ http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/192/#comments Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:22:14 +0000 admin http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/?p=192

Ever bounce a check? Then you know the sickening feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you pull that slim envelope from the mailbox. You know how anxious you are to make the check good and assuage your feelings of humiliation. But what if you never get that bank notice? What if you get a letter from a collection agency first?

That’s what happened to a woman in Weatherford, Texas. But she was certain she’d never written a check at her local Wal-Mart as the letter accused. So she did what anyone would do and called the collection agency’s phone number included on the letterhead. No matter which option she selected from the voice mail prompts she got the same response: Please enter your bank account and routing numbers. She hung up instead.

She then checked with Wal-Mart’s store manager who informed her that the store number indicated in the letter didn’t exist.

It’s a new way for identity thieves to obtain your personal and financial information. All they need to get started is your name and address. It’s a pretty safe assumption that most people have shopped at their local Wal-Mart at least once, and not unlikely that they paid for their purchases with a check or a bank card.

So what do you do if you get that letter or a phone call that accuses you of writing a bad check that you’re sure you didn’t write?

    • First of all, whether you’re contacted by mail or phone, don’t give out any information.
    • Call your bank to see if any of your transactions have been returned for insufficient funds, or if they’ve seen any unusual activities such as large withdrawals.
    • Contact your local law enforcement agency to report the identity theft attempt.

    Don’t wait for trouble. Head it off by enrolling in LifeLock’s proactive identity theft services. Visit LifeLock.com and sign up using the LifeLock promo code DEFENSE and pay only $9 a month AND get 30 days of free protection.

    At the end of the 30-day free period, your card will be automatically billed $9 monthly unless you cancel within that first 30-day period. You can cancel anytime without penalty by calling 1-800-LIFELOCK. This offer is for new LifeLock members only.

    ]]> http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/192/feed/ 3 LifeLock promo code fits the budget, meets the need http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/lifelock-promo-code-fits-the-budget-meets-the-need/ http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/lifelock-promo-code-fits-the-budget-meets-the-need/#comments Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:33:04 +0000 admin http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/?p=176

    We’re all experiencing anxiety (or outright panic) in the face of diminishing job security, escalating interest rates and sinking home values. I hate to add to the daily financial sturm und drang—and I beg your forgiveness—but you need to know about the increasing risk of identity theft related to data breaches and this recession.

    The threat comes from those who are unemployed and desperate; those who are bitter about imminent layoff or job loss; and a shrinking workforce that can’t maintain security as they perform work with fewer resources. In fact, there were 47% more data breaches in 2008 than in 2007.

    If there’s a silver lining to be found in our ailing economy, it’s the abundance of sales and discounts currently available to consumers. Home sellers, car dealers, restaurants and retailers are all trying to lure nervous customers to their goods with ever deepening savings. Of course, some of us have always been reluctant to pay full price for any products or services. Canny consumers pride themselves on their parsimony and insider information on where to find the best deals.

    If you count yourself among this elite, penny-wise club, or want to, you should know about LifeLock’s identity theft service and their promotional codes for discounted services. LifeLock is the ID theft service chosen by nearly 1.5 million Americans because of their comprehensive and innovative strategies. And, the fact that 93% of their members choose to renew after their initial enrollment is a testament to LifeLock’s customer service.

    Visit LifeLock.com and enroll using the LifeLock promo code DEFENSE to get the lowest price AND 30 days of free services.

    At the end of the 30-day free period, your card will be automatically billed $9 monthly unless you cancel within that first 30-day period. You can cancel anytime without penalty by calling 1-800-LIFELOCK. This offer is for new LifeLock members only.

    ]]>     http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/lifelock-promo-code-fits-the-budget-meets-the-need/feed/ 3     Job seekers need ID theft protection services http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/job-seekers-need-id-theft-protection-services/ http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/job-seekers-need-id-theft-protection-services/#comments Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:15:10 +0000 admin http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/?p=174

    As of January 2009, 11.6 million Americans are unemployed, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs are hard to come by these days, and job seekers are desperately applying a shotgun approach, using headhunters, professional networking and a number of online job sites.

    Unfortunately, rather than becoming full-time employees, many applicants may become identity theft victims instead.

    Scammers have been known to use information from applicants’ online resume to contact them and conduct bogus phone interviews. After the interview the scammer enthusiastically expresses an interest in hiring the applicant and requests the applicants’ Social Security number and driver’s license number under the guise of conducting a pre-employment background check.

    What they’re really doing is using all that information to steal the job seeker’s identity to obtain credit.

    Underscoring the need for caution while job searching is news that the online job search site Monster.com was hacked in January. More than 75 million people use Monster.com and the federal job site USAJobs.gov that is run by Monster.com’s parent company, Monster Worldwide Inc.

    Pam Dixon, a privacy expert who runs the World Privacy Forum offers these tips to those using online job sites:

    Use only your first initial and last name on your resume.
    Do not include your phone number or address.
    Use a new email account as contact information.

    In addition, conduct extensive research on any companies that express an interest in hiring you. Contact the company’s human resources department to confirm that the person posing as the interviewer is employed there.

    In such a challenging employment climate it’s easy to understand why a job searcher would throw caution to the wind, but there are worse things than being unemployed. For instance, being unemployed and contacted by collection agencies demanding payment for credit card accounts you never opened.

    It’s hard to justify new expenses when you’re unemployed, but for only $9 a month LifeLock will help you protect your credit, reputation and your finances. Simply visit LifeLock.com and enroll using the promotion code DEFENSE to receive the lowest rate and 30 days of free services.

    At the end of the 30-day free period, your card will be automatically billed $9 monthly unless you cancel within that first 30-day period. You can cancel anytime without penalty by calling 1-800-LIFELOCK. This offer is for new LifeLock members only.

    ]]>     http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/job-seekers-need-id-theft-protection-services/feed/ 0     Get ID protection before some nitwit gives up your personal information http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/get-id-protection-before-its-too-late/ http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/get-id-protection-before-its-too-late/#comments Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:25:36 +0000 admin http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/?p=164

    There’s a reason bloggers like me are always harping about the need for identity theft services like those offered by LifeLock: it’s because so many nitwits are in charge of your personal information.

    Before I begin my rant, let me start by saying the folks in the Madison, Wisconsin Human Resources Department are probably good people. Like their imaginary Minnesota neighbors of Lake Wobegon, they’re probably a bunch of strong women, good-looking men and the parents of above-average children.

    But how did their kids get so darned smart if their parents are nitwits?

    This week the city’s HR department announced that a laptop was stolen from a city office, and on the laptop were the names, Social Security numbers and photos of somewhere between 300 and 500 municipal employees who had new job ID cards printed between 2004 and 2007.

    First off: Why was the laptop left in an unlocked room used for job applicant testing, new employee orientations and the photographing of all employees needing new ID cards? Secondly, which boneheaded city employee is responsible for storing unencrypted personnel files on a laptop? Finally, why don’t they at least know how many and which employees’ personal information was stored on the laptop?

    HR director Brad Wirtz said he recognized that storing such information on a portable computer in a room so easily accessible by so many people was a “bad practice” when his own new ID was printed in 2007. When the city switched to a new practice of identifying employees by their email addresses, they thought the Social Security numbers would be “phased out” as employees were issued new cards.

    He was wrong.

    “We just didn’t think the computer was going to be stolen,” Wirtz said.

    He was wrong about that, too.

    The laptop has since been recovered, and police say the data was never accessed.

    Visit LifeLock.com to learn more about LifeLock’s ID theft services. Enroll using the LifeLock promo code DEFENSE to get the lowest price and 30 days of free protection. And, take this friendly advice: do it soon … before some nitwit renders you vulnerable to identity theft.

    At the end of the 30-day free period, your card will be automatically billed $9 monthly unless you cancel within that first 30-day period. You can cancel anytime without penalty by calling 1-800-LIFELOCK. This offer is for new LifeLock members only.

    ]]>     http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/get-id-protection-before-its-too-late/feed/ 0     LifeLock Speakers Series and discounts promote identity theft education http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/lifelock-speakers-series-and-discounts-promote-identity-theft-education-and-prevention/ http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/lifelock-speakers-series-and-discounts-promote-identity-theft-education-and-prevention/#comments Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:05:20 +0000 admin http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/?p=157

    Reading this blog is one way to learn more about identity theft and how to protect yourself from it. But if you belong to an organization whose other members are interested in learning more, you can take advantage of the new LifeLock Speakers Series.

    “The series has been designed so that individuals with similar interests can come together and learn about the latest identity theft trends, the inherent risks associated with the crime, as well as the types of proactive measures all consumers should take in order to minimize their risks of becoming a victim,” said Mike Prusinski, LifeLock’s Vice President of Public Affairs.

    LifeLock provides this service free of charge as part of their mission to reduce the number of identity thefts. The US Department of Justice has called identity theft the number one crime in the United States, surpassing drug trafficking. Every three seconds another American becomes an identity theft victim.

    By simply sending an email or making a quick phone call, you can arrange for one of LifeLock’s Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialists to meet with your group.

    For more information about the Speakers Series or to schedule a speaker for your organization, send an email to speakerrequest@lifelock.com, or call Cortney Read at (480) 457-2032.

    To learn more about identity theft and LifeLock’s services, visit their website at LifeLock.com. Enroll using the LifeLock promo code DEFENSE to pay only $9 a month and receive a month of free protection.

    At the end of the 30-day free period, your card will be automatically billed $9 monthly unless you cancel within that first 30-day period. You can cancel anytime without penalty by calling 1-800-LIFELOCK. This offer is for new LifeLock members only.

    ]]>     http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/lifelock-speakers-series-and-discounts-promote-identity-theft-education-and-prevention/feed/ 14     LifeLock.com http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/150/ http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/150/#comments Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:13:24 +0000 admin http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/?p=150

    Identity theft stories don’t get much freakier than this one from Annapolis, MD. And, making it worse, the guy responsible is out on bond and probably reprising his act.

    OK, here’s the story of the identity theft crime allegedly committed by Thomas Calvin Eichelberger:

    Last September Eichelberger entered into a job contract with a man we’ll call Bob (because, trust me, “Bob” doesn’t want anyone linking him to this story). Afterwards, they stopped by a gas station where Eichelberger bought Bob a cappuccino. After he drank the coffee, Bob said he started feeling lightheaded, but the two went on to have a few drinks at a local restaurant and then went back to Eichelberger’s place where they had a couple more drinks and Bob got sick.

    When Bob comes to, he finds himself naked on Eichelberger’s bed while his host sits clothed in a chair looking at him. Bob hung around a little longer, found a camera under Eichelberger’s bed and got sick again. Can you guess what was on the camera? Good guess! The camera held pictures of Bob and Bob’s naked butt.

    Bob went home and told his wife and mother-in-law what happened. (I have to laugh at this part of the story; can’t you just picture it!) By this time Bob was feeling lousy enough that he went to the hospital, where doctors found opiates in his blood. Bob says he doesn’t take drugs.

    A month later Bob checked his credit report and—big surprise—someone had taken out a couple new credit cards in his name, but the bills were being sent to Eichelberger’s address.

    This is when Bob finally, finally wises up and calls the police. The cops search Eichelberger’s home and find marijuana, cocaine and an email for Bob in which he threatens to send the nudie pics to Bob’s attorney.

    Eichelberger was arrested December 1, and charged with tampering with food and drink, second-degree assault, coke and marijuana possession and two counts of identity theft.

    And this is where I’d like to send out a big personal “thank you” to Baltimore County, MD for letting Eichelberger lose on a $100,000 bond.

    I’m sure a lot of freaks seem like very nice people, the kind of people nice enough to buy you a cup of coffee from a gas station. In the entire world there might not be another identity story like this one, but Eichelberger is still out there, and probably hundreds more like him.

    Visit LifeLock.com to learn more about their identity theft services. Enroll using LifeLock promotional code DEFENSE to get the lowest possible price and 30 days of free service.

    At the end of the 30-day free period, your card will be automatically billed $9 monthly unless you cancel within that first 30-day period. You can cancel anytime without penalty by calling 1-800-LIFELOCK. This offer is for new LifeLock members only.

    ]]>     http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/150/feed/ 6     Is LifeLock that good? http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/is-lifelock-that-good/ http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/is-lifelock-that-good/#comments Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:13:20 +0000 admin http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/?p=148

    Last year someone used my husband’s identity to buy almost a thousand dollars worth of Star Wars light sabers online. After filing the police report, canceling the card and doing battle with the bank, I began researching identity theft services.

    The first thing I did was go to LifeLock.com because I’d seen their commercials. (I have insomnia, so I see a lot of their commercials!) Besides giving out his Social Security number (a lot), their CEO Todd Davis goes on (a lot) about all the wonderful things LifeLock does.

    Is LifeLock that good? I visited the websites of a half dozen other ID theft services. I checked them all out with the Better Business Bureau. I read the reviews. I compared prices. In the end, I chose LifeLock.

    When I went to LifeLock.com to find out about their services I found out they offer services none of the others do. If I lose my wallet, or it’s stolen, they’ll help cancel and replace any financial or official documents before an ID thief can use them. They monitor the Internet to see if any of my personal or financial info is being passed around. They even do periodic checks with the credit bureaus to make sure nobody ever tries to use my 7-year old’s identity. (I didn’t even know people could use a kid’s identity for credit or jobs until I went to their website!) If they foul up, they back me up with a $1,000,000 total service guarantee.

    When I looked at the prices I learned that LifeLock was cheaper than some, and more expensive than some others. Because I’m cheaper than most, I googled around until I found the best deal. Go to the website and enroll using the LifeLock promo code DEFENSE. With that code you get a discount and a free month and pay only $9 month. My son’s coverage is only $2.25 a month.

    At the end of the 30-day free period, your card will be automatically billed monthly unless you cancel within that first 30-day period. You can cancel anytime without penalty by calling 1-800-LIFELOCK. This offer is for new LifeLock members only.

    Is LifeLock that good? Yes. And it’s cheap, too.

    ]]>     http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/is-lifelock-that-good/feed/ 6     LIfeLock discounts http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/lifelock-discounts/ http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/lifelock-discounts/#comments Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:27:21 +0000 admin http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/?p=145

    If you’ve been thinking about how to mitigate your chances of becoming an identity theft victim, but don’t want to pay a lot of money for an identity theft program, LifeLock discounts are the answer.

    Though it’s true you can place fraud alerts and obtain your credit reports without assistance or fees, it’s also true that you get what you pay for.

    A fraud alert is available to anyone who has been a victim of identity theft, or has good reason to think they might become one, but the fraud alerts are good for only 90 days and if they remain necessary, must be renewed. Few people ever place the alerts in the first place, and still fewer are vigilant about their 90-day renewals.

    When you become a LifeLock customer, they’ll immediately have a fraud alert placed for you (if you need it), and automatically renew them unless you tell them not to.

    But fraud alerts are only a small part of effective identity theft service. That’s why LifeLock provides services that protect you from the most common identity theft threats—stolen mail, lost or stolen wallets, fraudulent address changes and Internet rings that buy and sell large parcels of stolen identities.

    With the LifeLock discounts you receive 30 days of comprehensive protection, and then pay only $9 a month for continued services. Use the LifeLock discount code Defense to get this special price.

    At the end of the 30-day free period, your card will be automatically billed $9 monthly unless you cancel within that first 30-day period. You can cancel anytime without penalty by calling 1-800-LIFELOCK. This offer is for new LifeLock members only.

    Visit LifeLock.com today and learn more about the innovative services that have made them the choice of nearly 1.5 million members.

    ]]>     http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/lifelock-discounts/feed/ 3