Back in the late 1980’s after I finished my time in the US Navy I went to college for a degree in microcomputer engineering at a major east coast university. At the start of my second year I was told that I had not received a loan to continue my education. Needless to say I was shocked! When I asked why they told me they would check into it. When they found out they called me in to talk with me. What I discovered was that my Social Security Number was being used by someone else to attend the same university! The most astounding thing was that it was being used by 2 other people to attend the university. After I verified that I was the legal holder of my SSN I was finally able to get my loan to continue my education and thought no more of it.

This was my personal introduction to Identity Theft. I have been the kind of person to understand that sometimes mistakes happen.

Today, it seems that you cannot turn on the TV or radio without hearing about security breaches everywhere – in the corporate world, in our government – and it seems that no one who has our information is under any obligation to notify us when our personal information has been stolen or things just seem to be amiss.

Did you know that the Social Security Administration by law cannot tell you when something is not right with your records? Did you know that the IRS has no directive to tell you anything is wrong (nor do they care as long as earnings are reported and taxes are paid)?

When it comes to ID theft most people associate it with credit cards (we will discuss this a little later.) This is only the tip of the iceberg. Do you realize that your driving record is at risk? How about your ability to do banking? Or investing? Your insurance? Medicare? Medicaid? Do you realize that if someone commits a crime and uses your information that YOU could find yourself in jail?

All you have to do is think about where your personal information is and who has it. Think about what that information means to your life.

Now for credit cards. Did you know that most (if not all) credit cards offer “Identity Theft Protection”? This is somewhat misleading. Why? Because it is nothing but an insurance policy that you pay to protect the credit card company. It does have a side benefit though – it will make sure that you are not liable for fraudulent purchases (which credit card companies used to absoarb). Tells you something doesn’t it?

So what to do when you find out that your Identity has been stolen? Well a study has been done and the average person took over 200 hours to get it all straightened out. Folks, that is FIVE 40 hour work weeks. And that is WITH assistance from (meaning a booklet with instructions on what to do) from various organizations. I don’t know about you but I do not have that much time to spend away from work. Don’t get me wrong, I do think it IS serious. I would rather have a professional handle it.

Two hundred hours. Is that time you will take away from work? How about family? Which is more important? Do you have to make the choice? No you don’t. Check out Identity Theft Protection from Prepaid Legal Services and find out why.

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I am not an attorney, therefore, do not take anything in any of my posts as legal advice. In any legal situation, as in a medical situation, always consult a professional.

The posts on this blog are only intended to provide the reader with information on how and in what circumstances they may use their Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. membership.

I am not an employee of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. I am an Independent Associate.