Protection Against Identity Theft: Necessary or a Waste of Time?

By Harvey Warmuth

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America, affecting one in four households. It is a rampant problem that results in millions of dollars worth of damage each year.

Identity theft is a crime against consumers that, while it might not affect each of us directly, we all are indirectly impacted. Identity theft is the act of using someone's personal identifying information for criminal purposes, often times resulting in some sort of financial gain for the criminal.

Identity theft happens when someone uses another person's sensitive personal data for an illegal purpose. This includes the use of Social Security Numbers, or credit card numbers, without permission to get some sort of financial gain.

The crime of identity theft is relatively new, and is becoming very popular with thieves. You must be very aware of how you handle your financial information so that you do not become a victim of identity theft. Also, you have to be extremely careful with your online activities, including the use of email, as this is a very popular way for a thief to steal your identity.

There are companies that offer identity protection solutions which compliment the steps that you should be personally taking to secure your identity. Due to the fact that the crime of identity theft is on the rise, you need to take some serious measures in the fight against identity theft. One of the best steps to take is to make use of one of these identity theft services.

An identity theft protection company will automatically place fraud alerts on your accounts with the major credit bureaus. Fraud alerts are one of the best ways to prevent identity theft, and can be done manually or through a service. The advantage of using a service is that they will automatically renew your fraud alerts, which is something that has to be done every 90 days.

With identity theft becoming a larger issue with each passing day, it is becoming increasingly important to protect yourself. The use of an identity theft protection solution has become one of the most affective, and easiest, ways of identity theft protection.

When you use the services of an identity theft protection company, you are purchasing a safety net in case you do become a victim of identity theft. These companies will assist you in undoing the damage of identity theft, but more importantly, they will greatly aid in your defense against ever becoming a victim.

With identity theft being amongst the fastest growing crimes, and victims spending an average of 600 hours and thousands of dollars to recover from the crime, you need to protect your identity today! Do all that you can do to protect yourself from identity theft so you don't have to go through the grief of having fallen victim to this terrible crime.

About the Author:

Harvey Warmuth is a consumer advocate specializing in identity theft and highly recommends using identity theft protection. To find out how wise and economical the use of identity theft fraud protection is, please visit his website.