There are many people who have been victimized by Identity theft and do not even know it! They never check their credit report and if the Identity thieves have not caused major credit problems as yet; they may not realize that someone else is using their Identity and their credit.

At least once per year, you can obtain a free credit report from the major credit reporting bureaus, but this is not frequent enough to provide you with a warning if someone is using your credit.

The realization that identity theft was a real problem was brought to my attention when the son of a close friend went to purchase a car. When he applied for the car loan he was told that he had a credit problem and his loan request was denied. This was a complete surprise to him. As far as he knew his credit record was outstanding. He discovered he was a victim of identity theft!

Identity Theft Protection Plan

By George Dodge

dentity theft is an insidious crime which, like a lethal cancer, can strike anyone, anywhere and anytime. Often regarded as a situation that can only happen to someone else and never to them, identity theft invariably takes its victims by surprise. Unfortunately, far too many people wait until it’s too late to institute an identity theft protection plan.

Despite the ever-increasing publicity surrounding the massive numbers of reported identity theft, most people still do not consider it a viable threat to themselves. Not, that is, until they or someone they know falls prey to an identity thief. Then it becomes painfully apparent that identity theft is a serious crime with far-reaching and devastating consequences for its victims.

Identity thieves operate with extreme speed and efficiency. Usually, by the time you realize your identity is compromised by these unscrupulous characters, major and difficult to correct damage has already been done. Establishing a secure, commonsense identity theft protection plan is a simple and effective way to reduce the chance that you will become a victim.

In order to protect your identity from the personal devastation of being an identity theft victim and to save yourself a lot of grief and frustration, you should adhere to the following tips:

• Be aware that dumpster diving – thieves rummaging through your trash for paper containing your personal information – is one of the easiest ways for a skilled thief to assume your identity. So, you should always shred all documents containing any of your personal financial information before you discard them.
• Always protect your Social Security number. Never carry the card in your wallet or store it in the glove box of your car. Keep it in a safe place like a strongbox, safe or safe deposit box. Never write your Social Insurance number on the back of cheques. The only people who have the legal right to record your Social Security number are financial institutions (when setting up bank accounts or applying for loans), your employer (in order to process your personal tax deductions) and, of course, the tax department itself. There is no reason for any other institution to insist on having this information and you should never disclose it unless you are sure of its security.
• Never release any personal information over the phone, through the mail or on the Internet unless you are positive of whom you are dealing with.
• Always exercise caution in cyberspace. Never click on links contained

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Identity theft is a big issue today. Yet, even years ago identity theft was occurring quite frequently. With so much information being passed through computers, it has become even easier to obtain enough information to steal someone’s Identity.

You probably think that Identity theft won’t happen to you because that is exactly what a lady in Central Florida thought. Yet this lady went to jail because of identity theft!

One Saturday morning, a 32 year-old woman went to