Imagine my surprise when I received a letter from the Montana State Bar Association regarding my application to take the Bar Exam, and upon reading the letter which basically said, “You told us you had no delinquent accounts, but your report of credit card shows two cards that have not been paid for two years with outstanding balances of several thousand dollars.” Both delinquent accounts were frauds and it took a long time to clean it up and prove to the State Bar Association that I didn’t lie to them and was able to sit for the exam and then be admitted as a practicing lawyer in Montana.
My experiences were nothing compared to what some people have suffered after a criminal has stolen important personal information. This is why the book “Stopping Identity Theft: 10 Easy Steps to Security” by Scott Mitic, CEO of TrustedID, Inc. is so important. This book can save people time, money, and a lot of heartache.
The Nolo/USA Today description reads: Nolo, the leading publisher of legal information for consumers, has partnered with USA Today, the nation’s largest-circulation newspaper, to produce excellent books featuring up-to-date legal and financial expertise, a easy-to-read style and famous USA Today graphics. I found this book to be exactly that.
The book is easy to read and contains a ton of identity theft examples and practical solutions to prevent it from happening to you and your loved ones, and what to do if it does. Chapters include:
One: Identity Theft – What’s the problem? Information about who commits identity theft, how they do it, what they like best, and a start on how to protect yourself.
Two: Know your credit report. This chapter explains what your credit report is, what it contains, and why it is important. It provides information on who can get it, why you should get it regularly and review it, how to fix bugs, and how to freeze it if something goes wrong.
Three: Keep your praying eyes off your financial accounts. Learn about credit cards, debit cards, and checking and how to keep these accounts more secure. This chapter details many ways that thieves steal this information and how you can prevent it.
Four: Secure your online presence. Email, web browsing, instant messaging, and social networking all have risks, and this book shows you what they are and how to best protect yourself from virtual identity theft online.
Five: Spot identity theft scams before they spot you. Foreign money offer scams, fake survey scams, vishing scams, expired car warranty scams, and tax scams are some of the devious methods described in this chapter that have cost unsuspecting and innocent victims. I’ve deleted and posted a few of these myself, it’s too bad some people have fallen for them.
Six: Be a smart shopper. This chapter describes the risks and solutions to them when shopping online or in stores. Protect yourself when you shop by following the tips in this book.
Seven: Take control of your data. This chapter discusses the organizations that sell the data they have collected from you and how you can minimize this and opt out of certain mailing and phone call lists. You can also learn the answer to the question “Are you providing more data than you need?”
Eight: Clamp down on theft of your health coverage. The story of the woman who still had the person who stole her medical ID blood type on file at the hospital is enough to make you want to read this chapter on preventing medical identity theft. While losing money is terrible, medical identity theft can be life-threatening.
Nine: watch your family’s back. This chapter provides strategies and suggestions to help prevent your children and the elderly in your life from becoming victims of identity theft. If you think it’s not a problem, think again, identity theft of children and seniors is on the rise.
Ten: Bon voyage. This chapter contains practical tips for securing your important belongings while traveling. Provides steps to secure your property and advice on what to do if something is lost or stolen.
Eleven: React quickly if your identity is stolen. Read this chapter and apply the knowledge immediately after you suspect that you are a victim of identity theft. It’s a good resource if something ever happens.
Twelve: Stay ahead of the curve. This chapter provides additional resources to help the reader stay ahead of criminals. It’s a good resource to have on hand.
Some of the information in this book is quite revealing. You may be wondering who would fall for some of the schemes revealed in the text. I mean, come on, we’ve all gotten things via email that we know are fake. Unfortunately, many people have fallen for these tricks, and many more likely will. The amount of money that has been scammed and stolen from people is staggering.
This is a very good book to illustrate the various ways criminals scam people, because knowing about these scams will help you become more aware. The book also contains excellent advice on how to protect yourself and your loved ones, as well as what to do if you are the victim of identity theft. In today’s world, it is up to all of us to live more securely and stop criminals by not giving them the easy opportunities. Reading “Stop Identity Theft: 10 Easy Steps to Security” will prepare you to live more securely.
