The Sewing Mom

My husband recently experienced having invalid charges on his credit card, the one he always uses strictly for business travel. He discovered the problem when he attempted to buy airline tickets through an online travel service and his card was not accepted. Turns out, the bank the card is issued through had frozen his account due to suspicious charges, over $600 worth, that took place in eastern Europe. Since my husband had forgotten to update his phone number on the account after we relocated, the bank was unable to notify him. It’s all been straightened out now and he’s not being held responsible for those charges, but it’s very scary how easily someone can get an account number.

We’re lucky that it only got that far. There is always the very real  threat of identity theft.

Did you know that you can get a free copy of your credit report annually? It’s a great idea to monitor your credit and not wait until something bad happens. Don’t be fooled either by companies touting to give you a free credit report, but the only way you can get it is by signing up and paying for one of their services. I don’t know about you, but that’s not free to me. New York Times bestselling author, Bob Sullivan, wrote an article on this very topic warning consumers about freecreditreport.com. This company, owned by Experian, offers “free” credit reports, but makes you pay a monthly service fee for their identity theft protection in order to get them.

If I’m going to pay anyone for identity theft protection, it’s going to be lifelock, who not only promises a real solution, they guarantee it. So, don’t be confused by all those singing commercials using an actor to play the part of someone who’s identity was supposedly stolen. Make smart decisions and choices when it comes to protecting your identity.