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Knitting for the Soul

Monday, February 28, 2005

Are you concerned about ID Theft?

You should be!

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America. Just turn on the news or pick up a paper. Nearly every day there are frightening stories about what's happening all around us. This is not a scare-tactic devised by unscrupulous marketers or a vast right-wing conspiracy. This is a real problem!

Consider this:

  • Last Friday, Bank of America announced that it had lost computer tapes containing information on 1.2 million Federal employees, including U.S. Senators, potentially exposing them to theft of hacking.
  • Nearly 145,000 Americans may have recently been compromised by a security breach at ChoicePoint, a leading consumer data provider.
  • In the past 12 months, 9.3 million American adults have been victims of identity fraud, with a total US cost of approximately $52.6 Billion (yes, that's billion with a "b"!). The average cost per fraud victim is $5,686.
  • Contrary to popular opinion, more than 2/3 of identity theft cases occur off-line (68.2%)
  • Family members and relatives along with friends and neighbors make up half of all known identity thieves.
(Source: 2005 Identity Fraud Survey Report, published by the Better Business Bureau and Javelin Strategy & Research)

Think you're not at risk?
  • Do you hand your credit card to servers at restaurants?
  • Do you sign your credit cards?
  • Do you supply personal information over the internet?
  • Do you keep your SS# in your wallet or purse?
  • Do you leave mail at your home or business for the postal carrier to collect?
According to the FTC, dentity theft victimes spend countless hours and an average of $1,500 in the quest to clear their names. A professional thief can assume your identity in just a few hours, but it can take years to restore your credit rating. Don't wait until it happens - protect yourself and your family before it's too late.

If you're interested in learning more about Identity Theft Shield coverage, please contact me at p_turner@prepaidlegal.com

1 Comments:

  • Hello! I read your blog, and wanted to pass on something to you which you may be interested in. I was looking for a blog ring for orthodox Christian knitters and never found one, so I started one. You can see the main page and rules at: http://orthoknitters.myblogsite.com/ I hope to encourage more orthodox Christian (by which I mean adhering to the faith of the universal church, not merely Eastern Orthodox Rite) knitters with both their knitting and their walk and provide a place to find others who hold the same belief system and share interests. I also want to encourage us to pray for each other and continue to speak out so that new knitters and new surfers on the knit blogs won't think that anti-Christians are the majority. I know from my own experience how discouraging it was to find so much of the vocal online community to be so anti-Christian, and what it was like to find out that they weren't the majority, only the most vocal.

    By Blogger Ranee @ Arabian Knits, at 1:32 PM  

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