LifeLock Blog

No one is 100% safe from identity theft. Identity theft takes on so many forms that no one can avoid it, not even with a service like LifeLock or any other. There are however simple things you can do to help prevent an identity theft that everyone should follow. These things, by no stretch of the imagination, will prevent all kinds of identity theft, but it will make it harder for the common thief from getting your information and stealing your identity.

First of all, and this should go without saying, you should never carry your Social Security card with you in you wallet. This is a big “NO NO” and should be avoided if you can help it. Sometimes with new jobs and dealing with the government you might need the actual card. This can’t be avoided but make sure when you arrive home the card comes back out of your wallet and into its safe place. Also inquire if the actual card is needed or just a copy. If they only need a photocopy do it at home so you don’t risk transporting it around.

Be aware of card skimming, a very common way of gaining credit and debit card information. When you use an ATM inspect the opening where you put your card to make sure nothing has been placed over it and make sure it doesn’t wiggle or move. If you have any doubts about the machine simply don’t use it. When using your card at a store make sure to watch the person at the counter and what they do with your card. If they move it out of your site or look like they swiped it into a handheld device it might be time to cancel the card and perhaps even inform the authorities.

Keep your computer free of viruses and malware with anti-virus software. There are millions of malicious programs out there. Take precautions by using anti-virus software, and avoid using Peer-to-Peer networks like Limewire and Torrents. Virus and sharing networks are an easy way to get your identity stolen.

Many banks nowadays have SMS text alerts for your bank account. Go to your banks online website and turn them on.  Set up alerts that will inform you of large amounts of money leaving your checking account. If more than $200 leaves my account I get a notification of it right away. This will help you discover a breached debit card and help you recover and prevent further damage. Also check your credit card statements often. You have more time to recover lost money with a credit card, but you still want to catch it early.

Keep a list of contact number for all your credit cards and documents you keep in your wallet or purse. Numbers for your bank’s customer service line and numbers for each of your credit card companies and so on. In the event you have your wallet or purse stolen you will have a list of all the numbers to call so you can cancel your cards and also have them reissued. This will keep the time the thief has to use your card at a minimum and reduce the damage done by them. Remember that thieves know that you are going to try and cancel everything before they have a chance to cash in on it, so it’s a race you, literally, can’t afford to loose.

These simple things can help you catch and remediate an identity theft, but if you want to take your protection to a higher level you might want to think about getting a membership with LifeLock. They are the leader in Identity theft protection, giving their members unparalleled features and services. If you really want to protect your identity LifeLock is the way to go and for $10 a month you can’t beat it.

H&R Block is being sued in a class action lawsuit that has been files against them for failure to take action to protect their customers. The lawsuit came after a Bronx branch of H&R Block’s employees or former employees stole 20 customers identities to steal their refund checks. One customer lost $8,499 refund and yet another lost a $6,145 return. H&R Block is working with the IRS to clean up the mess and according to a statement made by H&R Block they are standing by their customers and doing everything they can to assist them.

Whether that is true or not, its a pretty serious situation. H&R Block’s job evolves dealing with peoples personal information and the thought that it’s not safe with them is not going to be good for their business. I am sure however that they are planning on taking steps to prevent this from happening again. However this is not the first time this has happened either. Similar situations have occurred in other states as well.

It seems as if H&R Block needs to take a step back and take a good hard look at the way they do things. A good strong policy on handling customers personal information is a much needed change the they will have to implement or go bankrupt in court.

It’s always disheartening to hear about situations like these. I can’t think of many business that haven’t had their share of identity theft problems. It’s not something that is going to go away anytime soon so the best we can hope for is a better way of detecting it.

A formal employee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and his brother were sentences to prison after being convicted to an identity theft scheme. The scheme used the Federal Reserve employee’s position as a information and technical analyst to steal information from the bank. He and his brother would then use the information to steal identities to apply for student loans which they used to buy boats and other recreation vehicles.

Curtis Wiltshire and Kenneth Wiltshire, where both convicted of identity theft after stealing more than 450,000 in student loans and 525,000 in loans for boats. Kenneth Wiltshire, 41, was also convicted of mail fraud and was sentenced to 57 months in prison and is to forfeit $525,160 in cash and pay $1.02 million in restitution. Curtis Wiltshire, 35, was also convicted of bank fraud and was sentenced to 40 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $200,000 in cash.

The scheme was found out after a investigator found data on a drive that was attached to Curtis Wiltshire’s computer. The drive had on it two fake student loans which featured a Fed worker’s photo which did not match the name on the application.

Once again this just proves that your private and sensitive information is never really safe in the hands of the people who are supposed to protect it. One can never prevent all kinds of identity theft, but one can be ready to nip it in the bud if it were to ever happen. There are many good identity theft services out there my favorite being LifeLock. If you are in need of identity theft services I would try them out first.

Identity theft is a crime that typically stays anonymous. There isn’t that many people out there that actually get to see the face of their identity thief. Identity theft is a crime that is hard to track. Thieves can change names and identities quickly and it’s not a question of what they are doing but who is doing it. What they are doing is easy to track it’s who is doing it that makes it difficult.

One Seattle woman actually got the chance to meet her identity thief when she walked into the JC Penny she worked at and tried to obtain a credit card.

Michelle McCambridge, back in January, discovered that her identity had been stolen when she began to receive credit statements from several department stores that she didn’t ask for. After filing a report and some official investigations federal agents recovered security photos of the thief applying for the credit cards in her name. Michelle didn’t recognize the identity thief because they had never met, that is until about a week later.

A week after seeing the identity thief’s face in photos Michelle got the chance to see it up close and personal. Michelle’s identity thief was attempting to apply for a credit card at the JC Penny where Michelle worked. Not only did the identity thief apply for the card at the same department store Michelle worked at, but the same counter Michelle worked from.

When Michelle saw the woman standing in font of her counter asking about a credit card account she recognized her from the security photos. Her heart skipped a beat and she calmly excused herself from the counter and notified the security staff to focus on her. The security staff was able to get a pretty good look at the identity thief.

Unfortunately they police were not able to catch her right then and there. After the credit card was denied the thief left without a scene. Michelle’s efforts weren’t in vain however they did help connect the crimes when investigators finally caught the perpetrators. One of the identity thieves was arrested a couple weeks later trying to take out a credit card at a Kohl’s department store.

In this case it wasn’t just one person the identity thefts were all connected to an identity theft ring consisting of at least 5 people. The identity theft ring was responsible for the theft of 39 different identities.