Identity Theft Protection Week

Identity theft costs individuals and companies millions of dollars each year but if you haven’t been a victim then it’s probably not something you think about that often.

Unfortunately even if you haven’t been a direct victim, the costs of identity theft are often passed onto you by the companies that end up footing the bill.  For example, if someone steals your credit card and goes on a spending spree you’re not responsible for the charges but someone is taking a loss on those items.

Protect Your Identity Week

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) and the Council of Better Business Bureaus are hosting “Protect Your Identity” week to help raise awareness of the threat and share ways to help prevent it.

We’ve covered identity theft in the past with tips for preventing college student identity theft and looks at the credit monitoring services of True Credit and Equifax Id Patrol.  We also ran the series below about identity theft:

• Identity Theft Protection – What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
• Identity Theft Tips – How They Steal Your Information & How You Can Help Prevent ID Theft
• Identity Theft Costs – How Much Time & Money Does ID Theft Cost the Victim
• Identity Theft – Stealing Your Identity so They Can Break the Law

Identity Theft Protection

According to the NFCC 11.1 million people were victims of identity theft last year, 12.5% more than the year before.  Later this week we’ll look at ways to protect yourself against id theft and what to do if you discover you’ve been the vicitim of identity theft.

One thing to check out are the free paper shredding events around the country this week sponsored by Cintas Corporation.  As part of “Protect Your Identity Week” they’re trying to set a Guinness Book World Record, so if you have a bunch of documents with sensitive information you need to shred, check it out.

Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

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