Author Topic: Identity Theft  (Read 4172 times)

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Offline BMG

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Identity Theft
« on: October 13, 2011, 08:06:53 PM »
I was listening to the radio today and heard an advertisement for Lifelock. Lifelock costs $10.00 a month and claims to protect your identity from *MOST* threats.

Now, I know that ID theft is on the rise and it is a very nasty situation to find yourself in if you are a victim. I know, because it happened to me about 5 years ago. Luckily it was caught very early because my Wife is EXCEPTIONALLY diligent with our finances (read; penny pincher!). Someone was using our small business credit card to purchase money orders from the post office through Pay Pal for $80.00 a pop. We caught it after they had bought two such money orders. We were exceptionally lucky because we were able to prove that we did not live in California and had not visited there during the time the money orders were bought (nor have we ever had any desire to go therefor that matter, but that's a different post :) ). Eventually we were able to have those purchases wiped away and we were not charged for them. Most people are not that lucky however.

So this brings me back to this Lifelock commercial I heard and the reason I'm posting this for y'all.

It would seem after first looking into this sort of thing that you have one of two choices: 1) Buy into a company like Lifelock, pay your fees and 'hope' they catch anything untoward (and hope even harder that they aren't actually the reason why you have your ID stolen in the first place since they would have all that personal/sensitive information of yours!) or 2) Do nothing and hope you're lucky and it never happens to you (the odds are still in your favor that nothing will ever happen but those odds appear to be declining each year).

Well, after my incident (as noted above), my Wife did some digging and learned about a third option. Credit Freeze. If you've never heard of this, look into it. A radio talk show hose named Clark Howard advocates using this method.

Here's where you can find his guide and some other information:
http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/personal-finance-credit/credit-freeze-and-thaw-guide/nFbL/  
http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/personal-finance-credit/credit-freeze-remains-best-way-shut-down-economic-/nFhB/
http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/consumer-issues-id-theft/credit-freezes-still-trump-identity-theft-protecti/nFpZ/

Basically what you do is this: Contact the three credit agency and pay to have your credit frozen. You get a PIN number in return. At that point, NO ONE (not even yourself) can conduct any activity on your accounts or in your name that requires a credit check UNLESS you thaw your credit prior to the activity using your PIN number and pay a small fee.

So here's my experience: We froze our credit 5 years ago and it cost $15.00. A couple years ago we bought a new car and had to thaw our credit at no cost to us. After the sale was complete, we froze our credit again at a cost of $15.00. So the short story here is it cost me $30.00 for 5 years of protection that is actually better than the protection that Lifelock (or any similar company) can provide and that protection would have cost $600.00 with one of those anti-ID theft services.

If nothing else, it's worth a look if you've been considering or are currently using Lifelock or some similar service.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2011, 08:17:54 PM by BMG »
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Online Pandora

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Re: Identity Theft
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2011, 10:41:25 PM »
O!  Clark Howard!  The "pocket protector!"  (That'd be Neal Boortz speaking there).

Very good information, BMG, and I 'spect I'll be acting on it.  I've been thinking about Lifelock, but this seems a better option.
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Online IronDioPriest

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Re: Identity Theft
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2011, 10:45:50 PM »
Wasn't there a thread about LifeLock a while back - month or two - and the consensus was that LifeLock wasn't necessarily what it's cracked up to be, and that the founders of the company had been involved in some fraudulent activity in the past???

 ::thinking::

ETA: No, that wasn't the consensus, it was just discussed. There is some info out there suggesting LifeLock is less than credible, but nothing conclusive.

Either way, it's nice to be presented with another option for protecting ones self. As it is right now, we're just plain unprotected from ID theft.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2011, 10:49:15 PM by IronDioPriest »
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Offline BMG

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Re: Identity Theft
« Reply #3 on: October 14, 2011, 07:48:35 AM »
Well, I did some digging and found this:

"While LifeLock customers have been generally happy with the company, it has received some bad press lately. First, co-founder Robert J. Maynard, Jr. was accused of lying about an identity theft incident that he claimed was the reason he started the company. After he was called on a few other inconsistencies in his personal finances, he chose to resign from the company in 2007. Then, in an ironic twist of fate, CEO Todd Davis became a victim of identity theft himself. Someone used his widely publicized social security number to open a check-cashing loan for $500."

At this link: http://www.lifelockreviews.com/page/2/

...and this, which essentially says:

"Experian filed a lawsuit on Feb. 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California accusing LifeLock of placing bogus fraud alerts on hundreds of thousands of credit files maintained by Experian. The suit also said that LifeLock had used false and misleading advertising to entice consumers into buying its protection.

Experian is saying that LifeLock does not do enough to let consumers know that all of the company's anti-fraud services can be had for free under federal law. The credit-reporting firm claimed LifeLock is exploiting the system by being a middleman for free services including annual credit reports, removal from mailing lists, and fraud alert system. LifeLock says it helps people, but Experian is saying its only helping itself with a pay-for-free services business model."

http://www.forbes.com/2008/02/21/experian-lifelock-lawsuit-markets-equity-cx_md_0221-markets17.html

And I also found this:

"Essentially, you hand over your future to LifeLock.com when you sign up for their services. This makes some people nervous because you do have to hand over your personal information and give them access to your personal information."

At this link: http://www.report-online-scams.com/lifelock-review.html

So all in all, the company doesn't seem to be a terrible company per say...aside for charging people for a service that they can do themselves with ease for free or at least at a very low cost. Still, their CEO did get his ID stolen after having started the company and there is this niggling fact that you have to hand over all your sensitive information for them to protect you.

By comparison, the TSA is supposed to protect us and we hear once a week or so about how some TSA officer has been arrested for child porn or smuggling a gun into the airport, etc. Personally I'd rather be the only one messing with my sensitive information. Just like with the TSA situation, I'd rather be the only one messing with my...well, you get the picture.  ::saywhat::
“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.” 
- Patrick Henry

"The more corrupt the state, the more it legislates."
- Tacitus

Online ToddF

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Re: Identity Theft
« Reply #4 on: October 14, 2011, 08:50:22 AM »
Lifelock, whether credible or not, just isn't needed. 

A)  Ditch the debit card.  Unless you have poor credit, it's just not needed. 

B)  Just pay some attention to the credit card.   Remember, you won't have to pay for fraud, as long as you let the company know within a certain amount of time.

I had someone generate my debit card number and emptied my checking account, through the same kind of scheme BMG noted.  I got my money back eventually, but ditched the worthless debit card.

Online Pandora

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Re: Identity Theft
« Reply #5 on: October 14, 2011, 04:43:52 PM »
Lifelock, whether credible or not, just isn't needed. 

A)  Ditch the debit card.  Unless you have poor credit, it's just not needed. 

B)  Just pay some attention to the credit card.   Remember, you won't have to pay for fraud, as long as you let the company know within a certain amount of time.

I had someone generate my debit card number and emptied my checking account, through the same kind of scheme BMG noted.  I got my money back eventually, but ditched the worthless debit card.

Wouldn't touch a debit card for just that reason, Hawk.

As for fraudulent charges on a credit card, there is a two-step process for dealing with that, at least with American Express.  It isn't enough to "dispute the charge"; one needs to ask specifically to have the charged removed due to fraud.  At that point, your present card will be voided and a new one sent.
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Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: Identity Theft
« Reply #6 on: October 14, 2011, 11:15:23 PM »
I've had the same card for 20+ years.  Three times I've been contacted by the card company about unusual charges (small amounts individually that added up to a few hundred dollars). They were all removed and I received a new cards. Once when helping my daughter set up her new apartment I made a big purchase for a bed/mattress at Sears for her then went to Walmart for more junk and my card was declined. Turns out because of the purchase at Sears they froze my account and left me a voice mail at home (I wasn't at home) to verify the purchase at Sears. Of course, now I call before a big purchase.
 
I just love it when a cashier insists on verifying my signature at check out considering how often I don't use it in person.

Like others I wondered should I get Lifelock or something similar.  But it made me nervous handing them my personal info.

I'd heard of the credit freezing option but didn't know the cost.

So if I understand it correctly Lifelock or the credit freezing prevents someone opening accounts in your name but doesn't prevent someone from using your debit/credit card if they just make regular purchases.

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Online Pandora

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Re: Identity Theft
« Reply #7 on: October 14, 2011, 11:30:04 PM »
Your experience, LV, is why I contact Amex when out of town, so they know purchases there -- and only there -- are valid for the timespan.

Sheesh.  So much trouble in return for convenience; it almost inspires a return to a cash-only existence.
"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain

"Let us assume for the moment everything you say about me is true. That just makes your problem bigger, doesn't it?"

Offline LadyVirginia

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Re: Identity Theft
« Reply #8 on: October 14, 2011, 11:38:14 PM »
Your experience, LV, is why I contact Amex when out of town, so they know purchases there -- and only there -- are valid for the timespan.

Sheesh.  So much trouble in return for convenience; it almost inspires a return to a cash-only existence.

That is exactly what I've been thinking about for over a year now...

But it's a time management thing for me.  My bank is 20 - 25 minutes from home so basically an hour is spent getting to the bank to withdraw cash.  And there's the trooping into the gas station to pay in the snow and rain. And having to carry more cash than I like to have on me.

I do pay a lot online (my small effort to get rid of the post office--oh, just thought of something for that other thread).

Still I think I will probably move to this at some point. Though the bank won't be happy.  Jeesh we refinancced a couple of years ago and they were literally shoving credit and debit cards at us.  Basically, saying these are yours.  I tried to convince my dear hubby to give 'em back but he wanted them.  I put mine in the cabinet and won't use more than the one I've had for years.
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Re: Identity Theft
« Reply #9 on: October 14, 2011, 11:48:21 PM »
" ...... a return to a cash-only existence."

I spoke just a minute too soon.  Look here >>

http://itsaboutliberty.com/index.php/topic,3388.msg37374.html#new
"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain

"Let us assume for the moment everything you say about me is true. That just makes your problem bigger, doesn't it?"

Offline Sectionhand

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Re: Identity Theft
« Reply #10 on: October 15, 2011, 08:13:11 AM »
Hell , nobody in their right mind would want my identity ... especially if they got a load of the rest of my family !

Offline Libertas

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Re: Identity Theft
« Reply #11 on: October 15, 2011, 12:59:29 PM »
In that case SH they'll just rob your wealth and leave you the rest.  Talk about screwed twice over!

 ;D
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