Did you know that Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States? Identity theft occurs when these identity thieves use your personal information, like your social security number, name, credit card or other personal information without your permission. The thief will then try to use the information to commit fraud, and other crimes using your identity.
It is scary to think someone could have access to your personal information, and not know until you sit down to apply for a new auto loan. I choose to protect myself, and personal information with LifeLock Identity Theft Protection, because identity theft is a serious crime, and working at the bank I have met too many people who have experienced identity theft without any protection, and it can be devastating.
It’s Real & It’s Devastating! Protect Yourself From Identity Theft!
I have almost been away from the bank for a year. I started as a teller, was promoted to Personal Banker, Service Manager, and finally Store Manager. Many people do not know the bank doesn’t have access to your personal information outside of the bank, access to your credit report, ability to fix errors on your credit report, place holds, etc. If it isn’t banking information you are after,there is not a lot the bank can do to change things, place holds, or much of anything. If it isn’t baking information there is not a lot that can be done at the bank.
The first identity theft victim I helped, broke my heart right away. It was a young man and his pregnant wife. They were about my age, recently married, and trying to purchase their first home. I could relate to them because my husband and I too were fixing to purchase our first home. It was a very exciting time in our life, and I could not imagine putting everything on hold because of something I had no control over.
She was in tears, and he looked as if she wanted to cry with her. I explained to them how the bank worked, and that I was not able to get access to their credit report, or the information outside of the bank. I let them know we were going to sit down in my office until we found someone who could help them, or at least answer a few questions.
This should have been an exciting time in their lives, but because of a thief they did not know if they would be able to purchase their home. Yes, a home! He found out he had been a victim of identity theft while they were running his credit application for a mortgage loan. They told me they had looked for a home they liked for several months, and had not been able to find anything. They seemed like a great couple, trying to do things right. They had good jobs, and wanted to buy a home to raise their children in.
They kept asking how long it would take to fix everything. I wanted so badly to tell them I would fix everything for the, but I knew I couldn’t. I started making phone calls for them, I wanted to at least know when they left the bank they would be leaving with a good contact number. After 30 minutes of being on hold, transferred, and given different numbers to call someone was on the other end who could help. I had to hand the phone over, and all they could do at that very moment was alert on the social security number, and send out paperwork to get things rolling. The woman was nice, and even overnighted a package to help things move a little quicker.
I felt horrible, because nobody could seem to give them an answer about how long things normally take, or what they could do about the house they planned on purchasing. I felt horrible allowing them to leave the bank with their questions unanswered, but there wasn’t much more I could do. I don’t know whether they bought their house, or what happened after they left the bank. I do know from other customers I have helped without identity theft protection, cleaning up an identity theft case can take some time. It’s not as simple as removing the information from a someones credit.
Our Wakeup Call To Protect Ourselves From Identity Theft
Then I experienced identity theft in my home. Three years ago I received a phone call about my husbands credit card, and unpaid balance being sent to collections. Honestly, I was a little upset at my husband because we have credit cards together. Then I started wondering why he needed a credit card I didn’t know about, and when I got home from work I asked him what was going on. He looked as surprised as I did, and come to find out it he was a victim of identity theft.
There must have been a credit card application sent to our rental house in my husband’s name, and our renters filled it out, sent it in, and somehow ended up with a brand new credit card. They maxed the credit card out, and moved out of the house before we knew anything about it. Luckily we were able to get everything situation, but it wasn’t quick or easy. They had my husband file a police report, fill our several forms, and of course we had to play the waiting game. I think all together it took about 4 months before all the late payments and unpaid balance was removed from his credit report.
Now, I know our incident could have been much worse, and we are thankful it was not. We also learned how important it is to protect yourself, identity theft can happen to anyone, and it can be as easy as a pice of mail going to the wrong address. The same week we found out Shawn has been a victim of identity theft we called LifeLock and signed up for identity theft protection.
We have been with LifeLock since, and have been safe and sound ever since. If we would have had LifeLock identity theft protection we would have known about the application right away, and could have stopped things before they started.
Identity theft is real, and it can happen to anyone.
It is scary to think there is a new victim every three seconds. If you are not already protecting yourself, now is the time to start. You do not want to become another victim of identity theft, visit the LifeLock Site and when you sign up you can save 10% off your membership.
What Is LifeLock?
LifeLock is an identity theft protection service. They are there to monitor your credit every 365 days a year, 7 days a week, and 24 hours a day for identity theft and fraud. They use their patented LifeLockIdentity Alert® system to scan over a trillion data points to help keep their customers safe from identity fraud. The moment they detect a threat to your identity you can expect notification via text, phone, or email. LifeLock wants to help stop criminals before the damage is done.
LifeLock Promotion
Right now, you can sign up for LifeLock and SAFE 10% off your LifeLock membership when you use promotion code “LifeLocksecure.” To take advantage of this offer head on over to the LifeLock Site.
Have you ever experienced any type of identity theft?
