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.
My husband travels pretty frequently for business and he books almost all of his travel online. On Monday, he was online checking airfares for an upcoming business trip and when I attempted to book a ticket using the credit card he uses strictly for his business travel, it wouldn’t go through. He first called the online travel service he was dealing with and their customer service representative informed him that his credit card was the issue, it was apparently locked.
Next, he and the travel service got on a 3-way conference call with the credit card company. After identifying himself, he was asked if he had recently traveled to Eastern Europe. No, he had not. He was then asked if he had recently made any lengthy internet phone calls originating in Eastern Europe. No, he had not. The credit card company didn’t think he had and so they had locked the account. Hmmm, would have been nice if they had notified him! Oh wait, he did receive notification in the mail, yesterday!
The credit card company approved his ticket purchase on Monday and then closed that account. They then reissued him a new card with a new account number. This was several thousand dollars in charges, thankfully they are not holding him responsible, but it shows the importance of fraud protection.
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One of the things that the internet has done for me is that it has made shopping for hard to find items so much easier. Just a few weeks ago I had to buy a new automatic pool sweep for our swimming pool. No pool stores around us carried what we needed and wanted to charge an arm and a leg for a substitute replacement. I was able to find the exact model of what we needed by using the internet to find a pool supply store in California. It can be a bit scary though to give out credit card information for payment to companies that you don’t really know or aren’t familiar with. I try to check them out thoroughly before making any purchase.
As a precaution, I am also pretty good about checking credit card statements every month to verify purchases. That would be why when I got the $15 charge from Russia on one of my credit cards I was able to immediately contact the credit card company and close down the account. I was also not held responsible for that charge. While it was only $15, the cc company informed me that credit card or identity theft usually begins with small amounts and works its way up. From that day forward I’ve had fraud protection on my credit cards.
I’ve recently learned of a new service, Shop Shield®, that provides identity theft protection when you shop online. Considering how much shopping I do online, I think this is definitely worth taking a look at. This is a free service too and it provides protection for:
* Credit Card Numbers
* Bank Accounts
* Billing Address
* Email Address
* Login Information
Their service, besides being free, is 100% guaranteed. All of a consumer’s personal data is encrypted and stored in independent data bases. On top of all of that, they even provide free victim resolution services and will reimburse up to $10,000 above what your credit card company or bank will provide. I think the sense of security you can get from knowing there is someone watching out for you and there to help when you need it is worth the effort of signing up.
Recently I’ve begun selling some of my fabric bags from my website. During these transactions, there is quite a bit of personal information exchanged. This can be cause for concern, and I’m glad there are payment services out there that can handle the payment part of the transaction and keep that safe. I hate having to think about fraud whenever there is a transaction, but I think that comes with the territory.
Don’t get me wrong, I have faith in people and believe that people purchasing my products are good people. However, I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck, I do know that bad things happen and I do what I can to protect myself. One way to do that is by using the services of life lock for identity theft protection. I believe it’s important to protect my good name after all.
Yesterday, I flew from Dallas to Louisville and I happened to over hear a conversation that has really left me thinking about identity theft. As we were getting ready to get off the plane, the couple seated behind me were discussing this issue and I was really surprised by what I heard. You see, the man had apparently had his identity stolen not just once, but twice. I found this very surprising.
I take a lot of precautions when it comes to our privacy and our financial identities, but I’m sure there are many more things that I should be doing. After hearing that this man has had to deal with recovering his identity twice, I’m thinking that I really need to utilize lifelock services.
I read a recent press release by Lifelock that emphasizes that while there is definitely increased attention on the issue of identity theft, it continues to be a problem. This is a really serious and expensive crime and Lifelock has set out to increase consumer awareness with its “Strike Back – Defeat Identity Theft Now” campaign. In addition, Lifelock is asking consumers to sign petitions that will be delivered to the U.S. Congress, requesting Congress to enact more stringent laws to protect consumers from losses of data, problems of identity theft, and prosecute the perpetrators of the crime.
It’s a lot to think about, but traveling always makes me more aware of my surroundings and the need to be safe, from all types of predators.
By the way, if you’re interested, I understand the Lifelock is looking for people to join their team.
