In just minutes you can begin to protect a lifetime of your hard earned good credit and identity.
Identity Theft
The Risk
Identity thieves armed with your social security number, birth date and other personal information
can easily open credit cards or bank accounts in your name or the names of your children to make large purchases, steal thousands of dollars, falsify loan applications to buy cars and commit other crimes including insurance and employment fraud.
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Thieves can easily use your personal information to obtain a cell phone, passport and drivers
license and even file taxes and obtain your tax refund.
Total overall losses from identity theft in 2006 have been estimated at more than $49 billion dollars. 1
Once a thief has your identity he can use it when stopped for a traffic violation
or during a police investigation or upon an arrest and you won't know until such time an arrest warrant is issued in your name. By then your information not the imposter's is included in all criminal record databases.
In the aftermath, your world is turned upside down and everything you have worked so hard to secure for yourself and your family is damaged. Utilities can be turned off, liens placed on your home, credit cards and bank accounts maxed out and overdrawn and civil lawsuits filed against you.
Once victimized and your credit destroyed or identity stolen it can literally take years and thousands of dollars to completely recover and restore your identity and good name.
- Government studies report that more than 300 million hours were spent by
adults last year to resolve issues relating to identity theft.
- On average a victim spends between 30 and 60 hours and between $500 and $1,000
dollars out of pocket to resolve each incident but much more depending on the extent
of the theft.
- In some cases victims will lose their jobs because of the time and effort involved in
the recovery.
Until issues are resolved, establishing credit, changing an insurance provider, buying a new home or car will be frustrating and extremely difficult Even getting a passport or a driver's license will prove difficult and time consuming.
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That's assuming you know about the theft. Although many victims become aware of an incident within the first month it occurs many others don't find out their identity and personal information has been jeopardized until a year, two or even three years after the fact.
Even years after thieves stop using your information as a victim of identity theft you still face potential problems including but not limited the following:
- Higher insurance premiums and credit card fees
- Difficulty in getting a job
- Higher interest rates
- Disputes with collection agencies and credit card issuers in removing tainted records.
In just minutes you can begin to protect a lifetime of your hard earned good credit and identity.
1 Harris Interactive Study, 2007
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