Identity theft is huge business. Imagine you can take someone information, assume their identity and spend their money with almost no consequence. Well, that’s what many thefts are doing right now. It’s not like the old days when they broke into your home and take your TV, now the go right for the money and wipe you out clean. Millions upon millions of Americans had their Identity stolen in 2008 and the number is expected to at least bubble this year. Most people believe Identity theft is a computer crime but this article from the New York Times makes it clear that even drug addicts can make a good living off your money. See how easy it is to acquire the information needed to your identity, even entry level criminals can get away with it.
Having your identity stolen even once can be horrible at best. The damage could take years to fix and in some cases you still have to pay some of the money back. This is a very easy crime that can cost you everything you have worked for. If you thing getting out of debt was hard, try getting out of debt that you didn’t acquire. Your finances is your responsibility and protecting it is your job. If your lucky your identity will never get stolen, but your reading this site which would suggest that your not very lucky so, you can either do your best to stop it from happening or do your best to fix it after it happens.
There are many ways to protect your finances, some are as easy as filling out a form on the web or calling the 3 credit reporting companies (Numbers are at the end of this article). But, if you would rather someone else do it for you, I have made a list of the top 4 identity theft protection agencies (Also at the bottom of this article). These companies will keep a watch on your personal information and call you when anyone tries to use it. They do charge monthly fee, but considering the options it’s worth it. (I sound like sales person)
Here is the list of the 3 credit reporting companies:
EXPERIAN EQUIFAX TRANSUNION
experian.com equifax.com transunion.com
1 714 830 7000 1 800 685 1111 1 800 493 2392
Here is the list of the Identity theft protection agencies:
LIFELOCK TRUSTEDID PROTECT MY ID ID WATCHDOG
lifelock.com trustedid.com protectmyid.com idwatchdog.com
1 800 lifelock 1 888 548 7878 1 866 960 6943 1 800 970 5182
Fee: $9 monthly Fee: $7.01 monthly Fee: $9.95 monthly Fee: $14.96 monthly