identity theft Archives - Jen is on a Journey

9 Easy Ways to Avoid Getting your Identity Stolen

June 23, 2017 by The Mom Jen Leave a Comment

Identity theft hit an all-time high in 2016. According to Javelin Strategy & Research, an estimated 15.4 million consumers were hit with some kind of identity theft last year, up from 13.1 million the year before. With these numbers on the rise, it is imperative that people learn to protect themselves, and there are a number of simple, straightforward things we can all do to Guard Our ID. Below are 9 easy ways to avoid getting your identity stolen.

#1 Sharing is NOT always caring. Do not reveal personal information over the phone or internet, unless you initiate the contact or verify the source. In fact, avoid giving out your Social Security number altogether; ask if you can use another type of identification.

#2 The path of least resistance. Store financial records, birth certificates, social security cards and other important documents in a secure location. Take mail out of your mailbox as soon as you can and ask the post office to put it on hold when you are away from home for several days. To opt out of receiving junk mail altogether, visit www.optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-567-8688.

#3 No rhyme or reason. Pay attention to your billing cycles. If bills or financial statements are late, contact the sender. Review your account statements and watch for unauthorized transactions.

#4 Kill two birds with one stamp. If a document needs to be discarded, make sure you use a Guard Your ID Stamp to cover any personal information. Shredding is also an option; however shredded paper is difficult to recycle and should be kept to a minimum. Readers can save 25% off of all Guard Your ID products by using the coupon code: GYID73 at www.plus-america.com.

#5 No if, ands or buts. Never pick obvious passwords like “password, ‘123456’ or even your date of birth. The strongest passwords contain letters, numbers and symbols. It is a good idea to use a different password for every account you access online. This way, if your password for one account is compromised, it won’t put your others at risk.

#6 Without a doubt. Before entering payment details online, make sure that there is padlock symbol on your internet browser. The web address should also being with ‘https://’. The “s” stands for ‘secure’. When making a purchase in a store, always shield the keypad when you are typing in your pin.

#7 Speak of the devil. Be wary on social networking sites. Use privacy settings to keep strangers from seeing your personal information, and limit who you let into your network. Do not post any vacation plans or family photos while you are away.

#8 Ahead of the curve. Monitor your credit and cancel any credit cards that you aren’t using. Take advantage of free credit reports several times throughout the year. Periodically request a credit report for your child. If your child is under 18, they typically should not have a credit file; if they do, it may be because someone used their identity to open accounts.

#9 Last but not least. If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, visit Identitytheft.gov to create a personalized recovery plan. The key to protecting your identity is to be attentive, not afraid; and these simple actions can go a long way toward keeping you, and those you love, safe.

Partnered post written by Andi Jose, PLUS Corporation of America.

#Lifelock | Children are Prime Targets for Identity Theft

February 16, 2012 by The Mom Jen 3 Comments

Last year when I was invited to Lifelock headquarters in Tempe, AZ, I was most shocked and amazed at one story I heard. It was about a father who stole his own child’s identity, committed fraud, and the child never had a clue until he was an older teen. Children are prime targets for identity theft because they typically lack credit records. This results in pristine credit histories ripe for the taking.

Since children will not establish credit for some time, the crime often goes undetected for many years resulting in a multitude of defaulted accounts associated with their name. Identity thieves, criminals, and even relatives or friends may take advantage of your child’s identity. Personal identity information such as your child’s Social Security number and date of birth can be obtained from many places including medical offices, schools, and even online profiles. Even your newborn can be issued a social security number that has already been stolen!

Watch this Today Show video, it’s quite frightening when you think about it!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Armed with a child’s personal information, thieves can fraudulently:

• Open new credit-based accounts like credit cards or mortgages
• Establish new non-credit accounts like utilities, and cell phone services
• Obtain employment and then evade paying taxes, for which the child will be held responsible

Dealing with child identity theft can be extremely difficult. Laws are frequently incapable of handling the crime’s complexity, and financial institutions are often unable to help. The consequences for your child can include difficulty with college admissions and loans, inability to obtain a driver’s license, receipt of collection notices, and even having an outstanding arrest warrant. It pays to protect your children with greater peace of mind.

LifeLock Identity Alert system doesn’t require credit files to help protect your family, giving them the benefit of broader identity coverage and early notification of potential threats to your child’s identity. They know most children don’t have credit files, and don’t establish utilities or apply for mortgages. That’s why the advanced LifeLock Identity Alert system helps detect applications for many forms of credit and non-credit based services using any piece of your child’s identity information – even just the Social Security number.

Not only do they alert you when they find applications for many forms of retail credit cards, mortgage loans, and auto loans, but also for other non-credit related transactions, including wireless service, utilities, check reorders, and non-credit related payday loans that contain your child’s identity information. If an application is fraudulent, their remediation team will take action to help restore your child’s good name.

Benefits for children under 18
LifeLock will:

–Provide early notification by postal mail, email, and/or phone when the Lifelock identity Alert system detectsyour child’s personal information being used to apply for many forms of credit or services.

–While most children do not have credit reports, they will request your child’s free annual credit report from the major credit reporting agencies on an annual basis so you can check for discrepancies or potential problems.*

–They will provide you with information so you can send a form once a year to request a copy of the child’s earnings report from the social security Administration. You will then be responsible for submitting this
request to the social security Administration. this report will allow you to check for fraudulent work and
earnings histories.**

–Help cancel or replace the contents of your child’s lost or stolen wallet with Walletlock.

Note: Members under 18 must have service administered by a parent or legal guardian.

*Extra precaution with your child’s personal information – credit reports are requested with a partially
masked SSN, so that they can continue to keep your sensitive personal information secure.

**Simplifying your role – we cannot request the SSA for your child’s Earning Report, because it involves asking for more information on your child to which only you have access.

Every child enrolled in LifeLock for Minors is covered by our $1 Million Total Service Guarantee. As a member of LifeLock, if your child becomes a victim of identity theft due to a failure in our service, we’ll help fix it at our expense, up to $1,000,000. (Restrictions apply. See lifelock.org for details.) Help protect your children today with LifeLock. It’s easy and inexpensive to add a child to your existing account.

Information is provided to me via Lifelock’s Ambassador program. I am being compensated, but all opinions are my own. My children are all covered by Lifelock!

Protect Your Identity with LifeLock

August 17, 2011 by The Mom Jen Leave a Comment

One of my best girlfriends called with bad news the other day. Her identity was stolen to the tune of over $22,000! The same day she got a call that her dad collapsed. Her world collapsed that day. She recently had sent out a myriad of job applications before she landed her current job, but her information was out there, for the taking. She believes that is how her social security number and driver’s license was compromised.

I had just returned from a trip to the LifeLock headquarters in Tempe, AZ. It was like a sign, I was there to help her, at least help her prevent it from happening again and also to the rest of her family! Maybe you’ve seen the billboards with the CEO Todd Davis holding his exact Social Security card for all the world to see?!

From their website:

At LifeLock, we help protect you against more than just credit fraud, we alert you whenever we detect your personal information being used to apply for wireless services, retail credit, utilities, and mortgage loans within our extensive network. If you become a victim of identity theft while you are a LifeLock member because of some failure or defect in our service, we will spend up to $1 million to hire experts, lawyers, investigators, consultants and whoever else it takes to help your recovery. Restrictions Apply. See our Terms & Conditions for more details.

While at the conference we learned so many different ways your identity can be stolen, it doesn’t have to be just from a stolen purse or wallet! Did you know that your social security number can be bought online for about $15?! People dumpster dive for information from your garbage (shred your documents), eyes are looking over your shoulder at the store and the ATM, and you know those credit card applications, they can be taken from your mailbox. A flag up for outgoing mail (check washing, credit card information, etc) is a RED flag for thieves. One thing that floored me was that your children’s SSN can be stolen, and they won’t know until they become of age and apply for jobs, college, or a car loan! In an extreme case, a parent took advantage of a child’s identity and wrecked their credit! Shocking, but true, Lifelock can save you the pain and hassel of identity theft!

With the 5 Points of Protection, Lifelock can monitor your identity, scan for threats, respond to actual theft, guarantee their services, and track your credit score! The LifeLock team is phenomenal and when you make a phone call to their service center, they usually pick up the phone within 17 seconds or so, seriously, night and day!

You must visit LifeLock and read all about it, I’ve officially signed my whole family up, so that we can feel good, day in and out. LifeLock is like a insurance policy, you sign up and you renew each year. There shouldn’t be any cancellation, you wouldn’t cancel your health insurance after you break a leg thinking you will never break it again would you?! Only $10/month, or $110/year, the membership is like a safety net all people should invest in!

We were given a family membership and I was hosted on a press trip to Lifelock Headquarters in Tempe..