Identity Theft Articles

There are people who make it a career out of trying to find ways to steal your identity. They have no concern for your family, well being or freedom. I have even heard of people who have had to go to jail because someone used there identity in a crime and they couldn’t prove otherwise. Don’t you owe it to yourself to take the necessary steps to protect yourself and your family. You don’t have to take my word for it or believe me, but do your own research. I was a victim and my only intention is to give you some more information and the tools to battle id theft.

The main step in protecting your info is to be aware and to stay proactive. Protect your purse and wallet at all times. Don’t carry your Social Security number or card, but leave it in a secure place. This is a common mistake that people make. But if your wallet is loss or stolen then the identity thieves have everything they need to start taking over your id. He has access to your drivers license, credit and debit cards and your social security number. Carry only the identification information and the credit and debit cards that you’ll actually need when you go out. Instead of carrying your social security card out keep it in a safe place.

Before you share any personal information, confirm that you are dealing with a legitimate organization. Check an organizations website by typing its URL in the address line, rather than cutting and pasting it. Many companies post scam alerts when their name is used improperly. Or call customer service using the number listed on your account statement or in the telephone book. Also, check your bills and statements as soon as they come and be on the lookout for any fraudulent charges. If you notice something out of the ordinary then call your bank immediately. If you notice your credit or debit cards missing then you should call your bank right away. Even if it was a day or two ago, because your bank will close your account and remove any charges that you did not make. They will also send you another card in the mail within 7-10 business days.

Don’t give out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or on the Internet unless you have initiated the contact and are sure you know who you’re dealing with. Identity thieves are clever, and may pose as representatives of banks, Internet service providers, and even government agencies to get people to reveal their Social Security number, mother’s maiden name, account numbers, and other identifying information. It’s not hard for a con artist to pretend he is legit over the phone. If telemarketers are bothering you constantly for no reason that you can tell then you can have your number listed in the DO NOT CALL registry. Simply go to www.donotcall.gov

Keep your personal information in a secure place at home, especially if you have roommates. If you employ outside help or are having work done in your house. Share your personal information only with those family members who have a legitimate need for it. Keep your purse or wallet in a safe place at work. Do the same with copies of administrative forms that have your sensitive personal information.

These are just some steps that you can take to battle identity theft. There is so much more information on the subject and you owe it to yourself to do your research. The identity thieves are looking for new ways to steal from us so we have to do our due diligence as well. Your identity is your responsibility and will not reflect anybody but yourself and maybe your spouse. Imagine being denied for a loan because you have several open accounts that haven’t been paid. Do your research and make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

The Securities Investor Protection Corporation was created by the U.S. Congress in 1970. The primary purpose of the SIPC is to help individuals who have lost money, stocks and other securities stolen by brokers or when their investments are at risk because a brokerage firm fails. Protection is provided sometimes through a request to a federal court to appoint trustees to liquidate the firm and protect its customer’s assets however, in the case of smaller brokerage firms, the SIPC may deal directly with customers. The goal is to quickly and efficiently mitigate the losses to customers that have made investments in firms that are members of the SIPC and that are experiencing bankruptcy or financial difficulty and now are in danger of going out of business.

By 2007, the SIPC had made possible the recovery of assets totaling over 15 billion dollars for approximately 625,000 investors. This services estimates that approximately 99% of eligible persons have their funds returned by SIPC. Without the SIPC, investors at bankrupt or financially troubled firms could lose their money and securities forever or at best their assets may be tied up in court for years. So it is very important to know that when you invest, you are investing with a member of the SIPC. No protection is available to consumers who invest in firms that are not members of this protection corporation, and membership is not mandatory.

How can you know if your brokerage/investment firm is a SIPC member?

Investment and brokerage firms that are members of the SIPC will have the language of “Member Securities Investor Protection Corporation” or “Member SIPC” on all signs and advertisements. However, consumers should not rely on that information alone as some firms may not truly be members, or their membership may have lapsed. Confirmation of current memberships of a firm may be made by calling the membership department at 202-371-8300 or you can visit www.sipc.org. Only customers who have invested in institutions that are legitimate members of the SIPC are eligible for assistance and recovery of assets.

In some cases, SIPC members may have affiliated companies or individuals that work contractually for them. The “parent” companies membership does not transmit to the affiliate or contracted individual. Those firms must obtain their own membership in the program. It is also not unusual for the affiliates to have have similar names, share the same employees or even operate from the same office space, but even in those cases, membership is not shared nor transferable. Each consumer should receive confirm that their investment services provider is a member as well as carefully review written confirmation of any transaction in your securities account and double check that it is issued by the SIPC member and not an affiliate.

Consumers may also verify membership by reviewing their periodic statements to determine if your brokerage firm is still operating as a member of the SIPC. In some cases membership has lapsed, and consumers need to be aware of those changes to their investment firm’s status, as any claims made on a lapsed member can not be processed.

One scam used by some so-called investment or brokerage service providers may be to fraudulently present themselves as members of the SIPC in an effort to either obtain customers or to obtain customer information, setting the customer up for schemes which may steal their investment or their identity. Quite often this is done through the use of websites, that use the name of a legitimate brokerage firm that is a member of SIPC but list a different address. In other instances, the frauds may use the name or name and address of a broker registered with the SIPC and then sets up a fictional entity. Sometimes these fraudulent providers even issue a statement directing potential clients to verify the firm’s membership in the SPIC website as proof of the firm’s legitimacy. These scams result not only in the identity theft of the consumer, but of the legitimate member of the SIPC.

According to SIPC President Stephen Harbeck, “SIPC has recently received information from more than a dozen U.S. and non-U.S. victims of this type of fraud. Experience tells us that most investors who lose money never follow up with a regulatory authority. So, we believe that the complaints we are seeing are just the tip of an iceberg. In addition to issuing this warning, we have sent our files to state and federal securities regulators in the hopes of identifying and shutting down these ‘brokerage ID theft’ rings.”

Connecticut Securities Director and NASAA President Ralph A. Lambiase shares that: “Brokerage identity theft joins a long list of scams that rely on the Internet to stalk millions of potential victims at minimal cost. Identity theft is inherently difficult to detect. For that reason alone, investors should refuse any unsolicited on line contact from anyone seeking personal information or money by simply hitting the delete key. I urge investors to contact their state securities regulator if they suspect they have been defrauded by this scheme.”

The warnings for potential investors is two-fold, first be sure that you are using a legitimate member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation for your investment opportunities. Only by using a member is your investment that much safer. Secondly, be careful especially of on-line investment firms, brokers and other invitations or opportunities. Quite often they are scams, and every effort should be made to not only verify the authenticity of the firm, but of the firms participating in the SIPC program.

The top 3 identity theft protection services have one major flaw. They ask you for power of attorney to store your personal identity on their servers and do the work for you. Just recently Chinese hackers claim to have breached the pentagon’s security and claim that no site is 100% safe online. If this be the case then why on earth would you place your identity at risk by allowing any service to obtain power of attorney over your own identity? This is a serious flaw in protecting your identity from criminals.

Identity theft protection is most effective when you keep your identity personal and private away from prying eyes. Just because an identity theft prevention service offers security doesn’t mean that they are 100% secure, as all websites no matter what security they may have in place have a weakness. This is disturbing because if hackers were to concentrate their efforts on any one identity theft protection service they would have an entire membership of people at their mercy. Wouldn’t you rather have your identity private and locked away from any threat be it virtual or otherwise?

Identity theft is rampant in America and continues to become a major problem as there are many organized theft rings operating online and offline to steal your identity. These criminals are always one step ahead and constantly trying to find ways to overcome obstacles to their operations. Having stored your identity on any server puts you at potential risk for identity theft. Think about it for a moment…

Isn’t that defeating the whole purpose?

Why would you want to place your identity at risk when you don’t have to? The whole purpose in thwarting identity theft is to contain your identity or conceal it from potential breaches. If you are thinking of becoming a member of any identity theft protection service you had better run from those that store your personal information on their company server and seek out one that does not. In the long run you will be glad you did. It is better to be safe than sorry, especially with your identity.