The Sewing Mom

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.

Tags: identity theft, lifelock

So, I’m walking along, minding my own business when it happens. “Oh look! Someone has dropped their wallet right here in the middle of the sidewalk!” I open the wallet only to find the identification of one of the most famous quilters of all time! I begin looking around to see if the lady who owns this wallet is around and I don’t see anyone, not a single person. Where is everybody? What will I do with this wallet?

I begin looking further in the wallet and I discover credit cards as well as the driver’s license. Just think of all the wonderful quilting supplies I could go buy at my favorite quilt shops! I feel lucky that I’ve found this wallet just in time to attend the Paducah Quilt Show later this month! I’m thinking, I look an awful lot like this lady, even if I’m only a beginning quilter and she’s an expert, but maybe I can pass myself off as her! With the credit cards, I can even buy my own plane ticket and book my hotel.

What do you think, can you guess who I’d be impersonating?

  Truthfully, I would only open the wallet to find out who it belonged to. I would also hope that whoever it belonged to knew the importance of identity theft protection such as life lock for their own safety.What would you do if you found someone’s wallet?

Tags: identity theft, life lock

I’ve been working for the last week on clearing off my desk from all the clutter and stacks of papers that accumulate over time. This has been no small task, and, although I can now see my desktop, I am by no means finished.

One of the reasons it is taking me so long is that I carefully look over every piece of paper before tossing it. First I have to decide if I still need it. If I don’t need it anymore, I have to look it over for any personal information that could be on it. To me, personal information that I wouldn’t want out includes phone numbers, address, marital status, income figures, account numbers, driver’s license information and of course, my social security number.

When I find a document that has any pertinent information on it, I shred it. I have a shredder located right here at my desk, I make it easy on myself. I shred so much paper that I have to empty it at least once a week. By the way, this is my third shredder and my second professional strength shredder. I wouldn’t be without one.

Unfortunately, as hard as I try to make sure nothing personal gets out, I don’t know if I will ever feel totally secure. Probably one of the biggest reasons I feel this way is in the mail that arrives every single day. Junk mail, mainly in the form of credit card offers. I receive at least one of these every single day, and on a big mail day, I’d say there could be 5 or 6 in the mailbox. I usually don’t even bother to read these, they tend to go directly into the shredder.

I’m considering using a service called lifelock that would help me reduce the amount of junk mail offers I receive, plus, they protect my name and personal information, with a guarantee of up to $1 million! That might certainly help me to feel more secure.

What things do you do to protect your identity?

Tags: identity theft, junk mail, lifelock, social security number