John Ulzheimer – Surviving Identity Theft

From The Oprah & Friends Radio Show with Jean Chatzky, 21 February 2007

Surviving Identity Theft: A Consumer Handbook from the Staff at Credit.com by Emily Davidson and John Ulzheimer

Identity theft, the fastest growing crime in America “and the world “is a cancer that no one saw coming. Contrary to popular belief, identity theft is not a child of new technology, or the evolution of the Internet. While debate rages between online and offline analysts as to where and how the crime is being perpetrated, it is clear that methods of identity theft are constantly evolving and consumers must constantly be aware of and sensitive to personal financial events. Think of it as a twist on the old phrase, “It’s 9 am, do you know where your personal information is? Identity theft is a vicious personal crime committed by terrorists, organized crime, petty thieves, geeks, cyber-criminals, drug addicts, gangs, and even family members crawling through garbage cans, stealing mail, sneaking around offices, infecting computers, scanning credit and ATM cards, phishing and pharming on the Internet, posing as telemarketers or court personnel, seeking help to move money from a third-world nation, announcing lottery winners, even working as home care providers for the elderly and chronically ill. Identity theft is pure financial terrorism. It is a crime that knows no gender, age, socio-economic group, race, creed, or color. A law enforcement official was recently quoted as saying, “Everyone is a potential target. If you have a pulse, you are a target.” Sadly, even the deceased can be targets as well. In January 2006, the Federal Trade Commission released its identity theft statistics for 2005. In 2005, some 9 million Americans suffered some form of identity theft, a sobering statistic. This figure becomes even more disturbing when viewed not in the context of a personal crime (a percentage of the entire population of approximately 290 million people) but rather a crime against families (a percentage of all US households – 110 million). When victims are small business owners, farmers, key employees, or primary or secondary family breadwinners, the spill-over effects can be devastating to the community (businesses and/or families): loss of productivity, loss of creditworthiness, loss of insurability, loss of esteem, bankruptcy, and even complete financial annihilation. This book explains how a person can recover.

Full Details

• John Ulzheimer – You’re Nothing But A Number – Why Achieving Great Credit Scores Should Be On Your List Of Wealth Building Strategies
• Frank Abagnale – Stealing Your Life: The Ultimate Identity Theft Prevention Plan
• Don and Susie Van Ryn, Newell, Colleen and Whitney Cerak – Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope