Comments on: Top 10 Identity Theft Tips for 2008

By: txmailsafe

txmailsafe — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:21:21 +0000

I start at the front door. I purchased a locking mailbox from MailSafes.com and then a wall vault (your choice of fingerprint, keypad or remote access) for my most personal documents. Great company who can find installers if you can’t do these things yourself.

By: ADAM MEYER

ADAM MEYER — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 03:11:56 +0000

BEWARE OF SCAMS AND LIARS!!!!!

By: Linda

Linda — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:50:17 +0000

Have just received a bill from collection co. for a NSF check dated in April for $23.97 to Gateway LLC. Have never done business with Gateway LLC nor do I know which of the hundreds listed might be. The collection co. is National Asset Management, LLC, P.O. Box 840, Moon Twp. PA 15108

Any information from anyone.

By: ASA ROUSE

ASA ROUSE — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:46:44 +0000

MSN MONEY, on August 24, 2008, had a fine article about the “waste of money” one might be tempted to spend for such “Identity Protection” service as is offered by LifeLock et al. And the article contains the following information and advise to readers, and I quote: “LifeLock… works by renewing an individual’s fraud alert with one of the natiion’s three large credit bureaus, a service that fderal laws mandate any individual can do for free, usually withing a few minutes over the phone or Internet.” And this paragraph, “Fraud alerts last 90 days and then must be renewed. LifeLock charges $10 a month to make sure its customers’fraud alerts never expire — a service most consumer advoctes are baffled anyone would pay money for.” My comment is that, in spite of an exhaustive Internet etc., search, I’m baffled that cannot find that nice-to-know phone number or any relevant Internet source or citation.

By: E. Bokor

E. Bokor — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:26:07 +0000

We have developed a mail box locking system which can be applied to any existing rural and residential mail boxes. We can convert almost any mailbox into a secure mail box which can only be opened by your letter carries and you. We are looking to set up individuals on a individual State level to convert existing customers mail boxes to secure mail boxes. Interested individuals can contact us by email at Diamonds@Glitzz.com

By: Flames4U

Flames4U — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:02:30 +0000

Also note that when you get a certifed cheque the real scammers know how to make the cheque clear, so if you get that, dont spend the money and dont pay someone, or some bogus contact, the trick is to get you to part with money then the bank comes back and asks for the cheque as it was a fake.basically if you geta cheque for 9,000 pounds and it clears, then you are asked to send 4,000 ponds to a person somewhere in the world and you do thinking that you still have 5,000 pounds from the money the truth is that when the bank comes back for the money they would ask you to rebate the 9,000 pounds( if you have spent it, your case becomes worse). The scammers would have succeded in getting 4,000 pounds off you and the ban would not look for them as your transaction was legaly done…..Anyone who pays you something then asks for anything back is a scam..No lottery on earth would make a mistake in payment… Bottom line is that this scam formatt is the the same, whether they claim to want to purchase your car, buy a boat or anything, or its a lottery scam or the want to be a lawyer that saves you or catches someone that had scamed you before. No more no worked for is illegal so the bank would not spare you on debt collection, Its one thing to be duped off money you have its another to lose money you dont even have……For all the people that asked this question, hope i wasnt too late to save you from making a mistake you might regret for life……GOLDEN RULE…IF ITS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE ,,,IT PROBABLY IS…

NB: If you have ever won a lottery and forgotten to claim it, the national lottery website(official) has you information and it would state the date and the area where it was won…check it out….Dont end up paying for someones new mercedes benz in Africa, pakistan, Usa or london…..even canada and france.

By: Flames4U

Flames4U — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:02:05 +0000

i can honestly tell you that if you know you never played anything or deserve such a spontaneous reimbursment. If you have no affiliates there or have no uncle by a name that you should be expecting an inheritance, if you get a bogus contract award from Iraq for reconstruction, and if you are simply reasonable and not greedy you willl never be a victim. What happens now is what is called a rescam. in which a person that has lost money would be contacted from a debt re collection(obvously fake) agency claiming to go after the scammers and would need motivation or administrative charges which will be returned after they catch the person. they would provide you with copies of the email you received the dates and times. this would have been kept in a well organized formatt.. all the way fro the begining to the end. you will fall victim twice. I used to know a lot of these boys and they spned their money on cares and girls. …. i have never actually scammed a person before but i had indept information into their circle, some legitimate bankers are even a part of these scam and they give money to this individuals without requesting identification… If it seems too good to be true it probably is…All they now use well know lawyers identity for this scam so if you run a background check on the person you will find the person.. It is very complicated and i can only advise that you protect your personal details so it is not used as an accomplice name and live an honest life not going for what you did not work for. I have seen every type of fraud from Visa fraud.(where the individual gets a valid permit into the uk using fake documents), to Internal cheque fraud( where it is done within the same country). to external( cross country). to construction fraud( where your company has been awrded a contract worth and you are requested to register with the ministry), to currency fraud( fake currencies_), to even charity fraud pleading for money to help(If you want to send money to charity make sure its one you have heard about there are also several ways to verify their legitimacy)….basically all the designs for documents that follow them are spectacular…. and when put next to the original have no real difference. It is a pretty well thought of scam and thosse that really have this much information are very few . I know that only 22 people out of these scammers are the real deal, government affiliation and all, they dont get arrested ever the others are just wannabes and they sometimes get lucky. A pro scammer sends out over 2 million a week and they have new methos to avoid it being directed to your bulk….Just dont be greedy and you should be fine. I dont know of a single case in which a person lost money from being skeptical…And several more where pensioners and widows lost their life saving to greed… Dont be greedy…. i have never actualy scammed a person but thr information i know about is from almost a decade of actualy meeting and talking to this scammers… the have an age range from 16- 40…very few older…BE CAREFULL…I hope this information was usefull to anyone out there asking….Bottom line…if its not yours and you dont deserve it, then let it be.

By: Gail

Gail — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:13:37 +0000

I just received an phone call from a company in NYC. They were going to send me a medical card free that would pay for all my medical expenses. I am on medicare. They wanted the name of my bank and my account number to verify I am who I am. I told them to send me something by mail and I would be happy to fill it out. Nothing is free so I doubt that they are legit.

By: Martha

Martha — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:44:52 +0000

Sandy,

Please send me a copy of the article you wrote on Identity Theft. I appreciate it. Thanks for the information.

By: Doni

Doni — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:33:33 +0000

This is a pretty useful article, although it has flaws — mostly in neglecting the “how-to” parts of some of its “tips.” EGs: #7 (Apparently neither fraud alerts and credit freezes “will stop a thief from trading your SPI for cash, or using it for tax fraud.” So what will??) #8 (”Because the Web makes it possible for any posted document to link with another, any data you put out online have the potential to stay there for what amounts to electronic eternity.” So what am I supposed to do about that? What would constitute “prudent posting”?)

Ruth: Thanks for the recommendation about Kroll. Anyone happen to know what kinds of fees they charge for any of their services?

I also appreciate the service this site provides. Thank you!

By: Ruth

Ruth — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:13:25 +0000

See the article on the home page of this site, “Keep Identity Theives at Bay During the 2008 Tax Season”. Go to that article and in the first line, it mentions “Kroll Fraud Solutions”. Click on that link and it will take you to Kroll’s site. It’s AWESOME. Check it ALL out. For all that Kroll does and can do for you, click onto ALL their links throughout the site - it’s HUGE. I cannot believe their services aren’t even mentioned in the Identity Theft Comparison or the Credit Monitoring Services areas of this site! There’s a whole lot more available to folks than is eluded to in those areas. It seems as though LifeLock is being pushed here. Check out all your options. There’s SO much more.

By: Sandy, Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist

Sandy, Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:55:47 +0000

This article is terrific and has great information. What folks need to understand is that there are actually 5 different kinds of identity theft. We always hear about the financial kind, but that’s only 25-27% of the problem. The other kinds are driver’s license, social security, criminal, and, the fastest growing kind, which is medical. With that information, it’s not hard to see how this problem can get out of hand for a victim quickly.
I have written an article about identity theft which may explains with real-life examples of how this crime can affect people.
If you’re interested in a copy, just drop me an email.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:09:15 +0000

There’s a lot of great information posted here. Indeed everyone needs to be wise and careful of their personal, non-public information. I haven’t seen anything mentioned about Kroll, yet. Kroll Background America IS the leading risk management company on the GLOBE. (I came to this site through theirs.) They were formed in 1972 and have been protecting individuals, companies, corporations, and world governments ever since. If you have a breach of your identity, there’s NOTHING more powerful than having Kroll on your side to attest to your identity and RESTORE it to pre-theft status in ALL areas of loss. In other than financial loss (reported by the FBI to be about 20-28% of all losses), I have found that in other instances, legal assistance is necessary to correct most losses (medical, social security, character (judicial), DMV . . If you do-it-yourself, to correct many losses entails huge out-of-pocket expense, often hundreds of hours of time or more, about 40 lbs of paperwork, untold phone calls, unlimited STRESS, loss from work, sleep, senses, and then you may find that it’s never totally corrected.

By: Matilda

Matilda — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:52:50 +0000

How do I prove that somebody is using my identity for work purposes?

By: Jenifer Sparke

Jenifer Sparke — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:23:24 +0000

Thanks of the great information it really helped me on keeping my IDENTITY safe. Thanks again