More than 10 million people have their identities stolen each year. For small business owners, the stakes are even higher, because identity theft can result in more than just poor credit – it can also mean the loss of their businesses.

It’s difficult to say how many businesses have been victimized by identity theft because most of the research focuses on complaints by consumers. Some studies say there were as many as 10 million individual victims of ID theft last year.

But the more sophisticated identity thieves are targeting businesses more and more, because the payoffs are bigger. Business accounts general have higher credit limits and make larger purchases than consumers, so hefty charges by scammers are less likely to raise flags.

Small businesses in particular are good targets because they may be less savvy about protecting sensitive information than big companies that can afford to hire dedicated privacy officers. Small business owners are often too busy to worry about identity theft, until it happens to them. That’s the worst thing they can do – when it comes to identity theft, small businesses have to be small with a big business mentality.

Business owners can protect themselves by keeping sensitive files under lock and key, by restricting access only to employees who need it, and by closely watching their books.

Business owners can also protect themselves – and their businesses – by signing up with LifeLock. Not only can LifeLock proactively protect your personal information, but your business can be protected too. And that’s something to celebrate.

Call LifeLock today for more information. Receive 30 days free and get a 10 percent discount on enrollment with the LifeLock Promo Code “Defense.”

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Identity theft protection tips always include steps for protecting your mail. It’s simple. It’s inexpensive. And, it’s a lesson many residents of the Spokane area learned the hard way this year.

Jacquelyn Crawford and Charlene Haggard have been arrested and indicted for stealing checks out of mailboxes and drivers licenses from cars. According to the indictment, the women made bogus checks printed with the account numbers from the stolen checks. They allegedly forged the signatures on the checks and, providing the stolen driver’s licenses as identification, passed more than 100 checks valued at more than $40,000 at 35 area businesses.

Crawford, 40, was actually relieved when the three-month-long spree came to an end, said Spokane County sheriff’s Detective Dean Meyer. “She just began injecting methamphetamine, so in a way she was thankful she was caught.”

Haggard, 42, who has eight felony convictions related to forgery, already faces several counts of forgery and identity theft in Thurston County. Haggard has not yet appeared in U.S. District Court on the federal charges.

Crawford, who has 11 felony convictions, including theft and forgery, pleaded innocent to the indictment last week and remains in Spokane County Jail.

Detectives say the case highlights the need for extra precaution when paying bills through the mail.

“You need to either spend the money for a locking mailbox or use a (post office) box,” Meyer said.

ID theft protection at the mailbox

• Pay bills online or drop your outgoing mail in a U.S. Postal Service mailbox.
• Replace your mailbox with one that locks to protect incoming mail.
• Never leave incoming mail sitting in the mailbox for very long. Cancel mail delivery when you go out of town.
• If you do not have a locking mailbox, consider renting a mailbox at the post office. Fees vary depending on location and box size, but box rental for ordinary household mail costs approximately $25 every six months.

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LifeLock’s new Command Center service provides an additional level of ID theft protection that’s very good news for their nearly 1.5 million current members and for new LifeLock members.

For current members, LifeLock Command Center is an optional add-on to the already extensive steps LifeLock has been providing. New enrollees can choose between LifeLock’s existing, industry leading suite of service and LifeLock’s Command.

LifeLock Command Center includes:

LifeLock Identity SDS (Search Detect, Secure)
• Monitors usage of your Social Security number to be sure no one uses your identity to obtain cash advances or payday loans.
• Provides report of sex offenders in your areas, and confirms none of them uses your personal information to circumvent sex offender registration laws—a shockingly common occurrence.
• Monitors non-financial activities such as apartment rentals to make sure no one uses your identity.
• Public records are searched so you can be assured no one but you uses your personal information to obtain a driver’s license, passport or other documents. Also confirms your previous addresses so you’ll know, not just about new ID theft, but those that may have occurred years ago.
• Court records monitoring creates a report of any criminal activity recorded with your identifying information.

LifeLock Personal Breach Detection

• Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks carry one of the biggest threats to your online security, and have even been identified as a source of national security breaches. LifeLock scours these networks for your name, Social Security number and credit card numbers.

Current LifeLock members can visit LifeLock to upgrade to LifeLock Command Center. New customers can use our promo code DEFENSE to receive a 10% discount on LifeLock services, with or without LifeLock Command Center.

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It’s time to start your online holiday shopping, and what could be more convenient than sitting in your favorite Wi-Fi coffee shop while you work your way through your gift list? But if you aren’t careful you could end up an online identity theft victim instead of everyone’s favorite Santa.

Fortunately, you can protect yourself from online identity theft with these five simple steps:

• Secure your Internet connection: Be sure your software firewall is on, and your file sharing is off.
• Shop on only secure sites: You can determine whether a site is secure by looking for the padlock icon in the bottom right corner of your browser page. Look for the https (instead of http) in the site’s URL; the “s” stands for secure.
• Watch for shoulder surfers: Coffee shops are often jam-packed during the holiday season, making it easy for shoulder surfers to go undetected. Stay aware of your surroundings and shield your card and screen before you enter you credit card number into any website.
• Use secure passwords: Passwords should be at least eight characters long, and a combination of numbers, symbols, and upper and lower-case letters that create an easily remembered phrase. (Example: “!H8vmprs” for I hate vampires) Use a unique password for every site and change them at least annually.
• Don’t be fooled by phishing: Never click on a link or reply to any email that requests your personal or financial information. No matter how official an email looks, no government agency, financial institution or retailer is going to ask for this information in an email.

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So far, so good. I’m six months into my new LifeLock membership, and so far everything has gone just like they said it would.

I received my notice that I would no longer receive pre-approved credit offers within a few days. Hallelujah! ID thieves steal mail as one of the most common methods of ID theft, and every time I pulled a credit offer with a check out of my mailbox, I worried about whether there had been others I’d missed.

Because of the work I do, I know that a common ID theft technique is to change the victim’s address to divert mail and obtain personal and financial information. LifeLock’s TrueAddress™ monitors address changes and confirms that if my address is changed, it’s because I changed it.

I received my credit reports within just a couple weeks. We’re all supposed to review our credit reports annually, and with LifeLock, it gets done. Only 36% of Americans actually follow that advice, and it’s a relief to be among the 64% who do.

LifeLock’s WalletLock™ helps me replace my bankcards, credit cards, driver’s license, etc. if I ever lose my wallet—something I did twice before I got LifeLock. This weekend, I was in a hurry and had my hands full so I stuffed my debit card and $40 cash into my pocket; I lost the cash, but, thankfully, not the card. Still, it was a relief knowing LifeLock would help replace it if I had.

LifeLock also provides LifeLock Identity Alerts™, eRecon™, 24-hour customer service and a $1 million total service guarantee.

I haven’t applied for any new credit this year, and I haven’t received any notifications that anyone else has used my information to take out new credit. So far, so good.

But has LifeLock actually prevented my becoming an ID theft victim? I don’t know. But I do know they’ve at least cut down on my risk factors. And, I know that if someone did try to steal my identity, I’d know about it a lot faster than I would without LifeLock, and with their help, I’d be able to minimize the damage.

Is that worth $9 a month? You bet.

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The global financial crisis has given people plenty to worry about: diminished retirement accounts, decreased job security, upside down mortgages and failing businesses to name a few of the common concerns. But even greater than all these is the worry about identity theft and credit card fraud, according to a recent Unisys Security Index report.

After surveying more than 1,000 American adults, the related findings were:

• Two-thirds of respondents placed themselves in the categories of “extremely” or “very” worried about credit card and debit card fraud.
• Nearly half said they worry about viruses and phishing attempts.
• Two-thirds worry about identity theft.
• Two-thirds are very concerned about abuse or unauthorized access to their personal information.

This is the first time survey participants said they are more worried about finances than national security.

There are a number of steps people can take to protect their credit and general finances, but despite a concerted education efforts, few people practice most widely proscribed recommendations:

• Carry only the essentials in a wallet
• Eliminate mailed credit card offers
• Maintain computer security
• Monitor credit reports and financial statements
• If you think you are or may become and ID theft victim, place fraud alerts and renew them every 90 days
• Shred mail
• Use public mailboxes

Some identity theft services offer many of these services as a convenience, charging roughly $180 to $200 a month. LifeLock provides assistance with many of these services, and offers other innovative security services, including WalletLock™, eRecon™ and TrueAddress™.

Visit LifeLock.com to learn more about their comprehensive services. Use the LifeLock discount code DEFENSE and pay only $9 a month after a 30-day free trial. 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.

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If you’re like most people, your New Year’s resolution to work out more is a distant memory and you’ve already gained two more pounds. But what about the promise you made yourself to try something new?

If you haven’t made your reservation yet for a hot air balloon ride, how about becoming an identity theft victim instead? Granted, it’s hardly a unique experience—roughly 10 million people are doing it every year—but it’s like no other experience you’ve ever had.

How to get started

Finally, have faith. Use all your vacation hours early in the year so you can really savor those hundreds of hours you’ll be spending on the phone at work later when you enter the surreal world of identity theft victims.

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]]> http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/179/feed/ 1 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.

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]]> http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/lifelock-promo-code-fits-the-budget-meets-the-need/feed/ 3 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.

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]]> http://www.idtheftquiz.org/blog/job-seekers-need-id-theft-protection-services/feed/ 0 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.

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