‘Identity Theft’ Can Occur Anytime and Anywhere

Last Friday I had the opportunity to hear a presentation on "Identity Theft" at a Quincy Exchange Club meeting. Bill LaTour was the presenter and the topic was one that pertains to everyone no matter what age. LaTour is the Campus Police Chief and Dean of Operations for John Wood Community College.

There are some alarming statistics out there involving "Identity Theft".  Here are some of those numbers. Approximately 15 million United States residents have their identities used fraudulently each year with financial losses totaling upwards of $50 billion.  On a case-by-case basis, that means approximately 7% of all adults have their identities misused with each instance resulting in approximately $3,500 in losses. Close to 100 million additional Americans have their personal identifying information placed at risk of identity theft each year when records maintained in government and corporate databases are lost or stolen.

LaTour presented some steps that you can take to help protect yourself from identity theft. They included removing your Social Security Card from your wallet, carrying only the credit cards you need with you, mailing your mail at the post office or place in a mail box and not your personal “flagged” mailbox, and shred your paperwork before discarding it.  Bill also shared that we lockup important personal documents you may have a work, be cautious of allowing repairmen in your home while you are at work and get an annual credit report to make sure your credit info is accurate.

If you have already been a victim of identity theft you already know the hassle it is to get things back to normal.  I could go on and on about ways to protect yourself for someone stealing your identity but, according to LaTour, a great website to check out is www.ftc.gov/idtheft.  Take the 10 minutes to look at it. It might save you some real problems.