ID Theft

(Copyrighted Material)

Dear friends and readers:

In my previous blogs and bulletins, I discussed ID theft/fraud and scams.

Listen to the reports/news about a neighbor (a couple) in an apartment stolen other neighbors ID and lived richly OFF those people's IDs.

There are so many other ways for Identity theft Fraud. Such as

1. People looking over your shoulder in the stores.

2. Stealing your mail from your mail boxes (home or post office).

3. You losing your valet and not immediately reporting the loss to the police, your creditors and banks.

4. You provided your credit card to a company for a purchased and the company keeps charging your account when the authorized charge was only SUPPOSED TO BE for one transaction. "fraud spree"

5. ID assumption. Like the couple on the CNN news have done with their neighbors.

6. Electronic transactions. A lot of us think that the internet or Cell phones are safe. In fact, they are the unsafest and the easiest method for Stolen ID or account information.

7. Lost your keys? I have seen key chains and key valets in which the owners address is engraved on the valet of key chain. What a silly idea!?! If you lose your key and a stranger finds it, now you are letting the stranger where you live. Why don't you also note the hours you won't be home and the combination to your safety deposit box and your security key code so that if he/she decided to visit your home (while you're away), he/she would feel at home. If I lose my keys, I will make it less troublesome for me and let the police know (IMMEDIATELY MAKE A REPORT). If I have to take a drastic measure, I will change my house door locks and possibly do the same with my cars.

Making a report WILL PROTECT YOU IN DISPUTING CHARGES, ACCOUNTS and rescues you from a whole long list of other troubles.

"If the keys are surely lost, let it stay lost." Don't invite strangers to your domain.

There are some websites that claim to be secured websites, but in reality they are not.

I still like to do my "on-line" transactions over my land-line phones. If I truly have to perform an "on-line" transactions, I will LIMIT such transactions to particular TRUSTED companies and through ONE particular bank account in which I review every day *(as a lot of my transactions go through that account and it requires me to monitor the account closely). You may say, "who has time to monitor an account daily?". Believe me when it is your money, credit and life "on the line", you will protect it (IF YOU CARE).

Anyway, I don't agree with some people who hand their credit cards to someone they recently met, their car keys to a newly found friends

Why don't you go to the website listed in the resource box and post your questions and comments
Thanks

Mike Samadi