LifeLock Blog

Getting married is one of the biggest changes to someone life. It is a great and wonderful time in a person’s life when they find someone they want to spend the rest of their life with. There are so many changes and new things to get use to people get over whelmed with all the information being thrown at them. Unfortunately this happy time in your life is also a time in which an identity theft could take place. With all the registries and wedding websites giving out information it’s no wonder wedding season is also identity theft season.

There are many identity theft scams that are associated with wedding planning. Some wedding websites will flood your inbox with free offers and discounts on items. Some of these offers are legitimate and some are not. Many people planning a wedding fall victim to this. Wedding planners sign-up for so many things that they forget to use their better judgment against some of the more shady deals. The deals are just scams to get you to give out personal information about yourself so they can steal your identity.

The best way to protect yourself from this kind of identity theft is only signup for offers from venders that you trust. If you don’t know anything about the vender don’t sign-up. If there is any doubt in your mind it’s better to just avoid the company. Be careful of offers that require a deposit or security fee. These offers are more than likely scams and are simply going steal your money when you send it to them. Be aware of the information you are giving out. When they require information inquire why they need it. Don’t give out information that is not required or isn’t needed. If they require information that shouldn’t be needed I would just walk away from the offer.

When registering at wedding websites make sure you give out as little information about yourself as possible. The more information you give out the easier you make it for the identity thieves trying to steal your identity. Read the privacy statements of the wedding websites and make sure they are not going to give out your information to companies trying to sell you things or trying to scam you. Keep an eye out for those pre-checked boxes that suggest free offers from companies. They are often times a legal way to get you to authorize the selling of your information. If you are not careful before you know it your inbox will be loaded with wedding offers some of which my not be legitimate.

Could it happen that after committing so much identity theft and deception, the perpetrator completely loses track of who he is?

Rodney Roussell was arrested this week in Baton Rouge, LA after the US Secret Service and the East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies spent months tracking him down.

When Rousell was arrested, investigators say they found an ID bearing his picture and someone else’s name; the same name was also found on six different credit cards.

Rousell’s cell phone was in one name; his apartment was in another. He uses yet another name as an entertainer, and his car was purchased using the Social Security number of an elderly woman from Texas. Besides all that, Rousell is a cross dresser, but was dressed as a man when he was arrested at a nightclub.

Some of Rousell’s stolen identities help him receive bank loans, and others were used to rack up roughly $90,000 in counterfeit check charges.

Rousell is also wanted on fraud and identity theft charges in Texas.

Identity thieves seldom limit themselves to just one victim, or even a single type of criminal behavior. Likewise, consumers need more than one plan of defense to protect themselves from identity theft.