| Top 10 Myths About Identity Theft That you Should Know |
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1. Identity Theft is not just about your credit, there are five areas of identity theft:
1. Your Driver's License Identity= If someone steals your Driver's License, you could
end up with a DUI (Driving under the Influence), DWI (Driving while Intoxicated) and/or
other various traffic violations. Those violations could result in a higher insurance premium,
a suspended license or JAIL.
2. Your Social Security Identity= Someone ( felon , Terrorist, Illegal Immigrant) working
under your social security number/ consequences: it could have you audited or arrested for tax
evasion
3. Your Medical Identity= someone using your identity to get medical treatment /
consequences: it COULD KILL YOU
4. Your Character Identity= ( Number 2 reported identity theft ) someone getting
arrested and using someone else’s name/ consequences: could have you arrested, detained at
an airport, transferred across the country to answer charges you know nothing about ( god
forbid you’re a parent)
5. Your Financial Identity= someone opening accounts in your name or using your
existing credit lines. THERE IS NO 0% LIABILITY!!!!!!!
2. All though the commercials we watch are hilarious THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS 0%
LIABILITY YOU CAN AND WILL LOSE YOUR MONEY. The following quote is being copied
from the Federal Trade Commissions document “Taking Charge Fighting Back Against
Identity Theft” It can be obtained by calling 1-877-IDTheft or www.consumer.gov/idtheft or Go
to my site www.KJ3rd.com and Click FTC Guide on the left toolbar. On page 19 it talks about
what you must do if you want to dispute something with your credit card, Mortgage Company,
bank or any other creditor. It’s explaining the Fair Credit Billing Act to consumers ( WATCH
THE LANGUAGE USED)
“The Fair Credit Billing Act establishes procedures for resolving billing errors on your credit
card accounts, including fraudulent charges on your accounts. The law also limits your liability
for unauthorized credit card charges to $50 per card. To take advantage of the law's
consumer protections, you must: ………………..
Send your letter so that it reaches the creditor within 60 days after the first bill
containing the error was mailed to you. If an identity thief changed the address on
your account and you didn't receive the bill, your dispute letter still must
reach the creditor within 60 days of when the creditor would have mailed
the bill. “
3. The likelihood of you becoming a victim has nothing to do with the security measures
you take. Over the past 20 months the data on over 215 MILLION people have been lost by
third party companies they trusted. ( As reported by http://www.privacyrights.
org/ar/ChronDataBreaches.htm ) The likelihood of you becoming a victim as I understand it
is now 75 to 80% dependant on the security measures taken by the companies and individuals
who have access to your information.
4. Its not IF you become a victim it’s WHEN. Based on # 3 the data on 1 out of 3
Americans has already been lost by someone and is floating in cyberspace. The best thing for
consumers to do is to take preventive measures to insure and arrange to have access to the
professionals you will need before the event takes place. ( Credit Monitoring is not enough by
itself)
( you need layered protection ie...access to counsel , credit monitoring, and full restoration)
5. Identity Theft is the Fastest Growing White Collar Crime in The World. It is also the
#1 form of fund raising for terrorism and organized crime. They don’t rob banks anymore 1
out of 7 bank robbers’ gets away. 1 out of 700 identity theft thieves even get caught.
6. IT COULD KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Imagine going to a hospital in an emergency situation
and being given diabetic treatment when your not diabetic, being given the wrong blood type
during a transfusion, or even worse imagine being treated as an HIV positive individual when
in fact your not.
Readers Digest Front cover of its November 2006 issue was tagged “Identity Thieves new
Target: Your Medical Records” on page 88 I quote “An insurance card is like a Visa with a
million dollar spending limit.
The University of Connecticut ran a study after which they posted the following article listing
the results and I quote “If the person who steals your health identity has allergies or specific
medical conditions that collide with yours for instance … when you go in for care, you may
experience a dangerous drug interaction or unknowingly be denied potentially lifesaving
medications or treatments because they will assume the thief’s medical information is yours.”
7. Due to the explosive growth of the epidemic Congress and the Attorney Generals have
been passing a tremendous amount of new laws aimed at providing the consumer with
protection at the same time instituting stiff penalties for businesses for the way the obtain,
process, and maintain consumer data as well as providing training to employees on how to
comply with the laws. The law now allows for victims to receive compensation for their actual
damages from companies as well as file law suits with no statutory limitation. If the breach
took place at your place of employment and your employer is not compliant then you may be
entitled to be compensated by your employer for the time you have to take off to get your life
back ( FTC avg. 60 to 600 hours) as well as any actual damages you have incurred.
8. The New Laws that have been passed, when plaintiff attorneys begin to study them and
understand them in depth will change the way class action lawsuits are handled in our country.
As one fourth generation plaintiff attorney puts it “These laws are the next best thing since
car wrecks!” The law allows for financial fines from $3,500 to $1,000,000 per instance per
occurrence, Class action lawsuits with not statutory limitation, Removal of Management for
non-compliance, As well as CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR EXECUTIVES FOR
NONCOMPLIANCE.
The July/August Issue of Corporate Board Magazine….asks and answers the question?
“Who will class-action lawsuit lawyers go after next? Unfortunately, any company which has
access to personal data about consumers and employees may be at risk. This applies to just
about everybody, but with concerns about identity theft zooming, any company that
accidentally discloses data protected by privacy laws runs a risk of litigation.”
9. Studies show that over 50% of all identity theft cases are committed by someone the
victim knows. This could include anyone from someone on your accountant’s or doctor’s staff,
a family member, friend or neighbor. AARP ran an article that I quote
“From AARP … “an 82-year-old grandmother, quit driving during the Truman
administration.” In 2001 she “suddenly found herself in what she describes as a ‘living hell’
after one of her neighbors, arrested on drunk-driving charges … pretended to be her. ‘I was
told there were warrants for my arrest … I was afraid to answer the phone’.”
10. We have not even begun to understand the epidemic of identity theft nor have we
seen anything close to its peak. It is a technology crime and rather you know it or not we are
number 7 in the world in technology. I quote two final articles one from the American Bar
Associations Month Journal that it sends to attorneys nationwide every month. It is the first
article to my knowledge that the ABA published on the topic. Its’ relevant because it explains
the FTC position as far a businesses are concerned. The second article comes from USA today
and it speaks to the growth of the epidemic.
If You or someone you know is or has been a victim of identity theft and or if you would like
to talk about some of the protection methods that are available to you then please do not
hesitate to call or email me. My direct number is 706-478-5234, my email is KJ3rd@KJ3rd.
com , and my website is www.KJ3rd.com .
I also assist businesses with understanding the new legislation and becoming compliant. The
biggest thing I see on a national level that hurt businesses the most is depending on your
existing counsel to help you with the legislation. I have a great respect for the lawyers as I am
the product of three generations. However, the fact of the matter is this, Attorneys study case
law. Case law is established because new legislation is passed, a tremendous amount of people
get taken advantage of, some fight back and the ones that win become the cases that are read
as case law. There is no money for attorneys to help you become compliant the money from an
attorney point of view comes from shutting down your business and there is an unmitigated
fortune in just that.
Don’t allow you, your love ones, your clients, employees, or anyone else who depends on you
to be victimized because they depended on you to protect them.
K.J. Anderson III Earns Certified Identity Theft Risk Management
Specialist Designation (CITRMS)
K.J. Anderson III has successfully completed the Certified Identity Theft Risk Management
Specialist curriculum and now joins the ranks of select professionals nationwide who have
earned the CITRMS certification.
The CITRMS certification program is the nation’s only training program specifically developed
for professionals who are dedicated to educating and assisting clients, customers, businesses,
and the general public in combating the epidemic of Identity Theft and related fraud. CITRMS-
qualified professionals are employed by financial institutions, financial services firms, law
enforcement and other government agencies. Many others are private practitioners including
attorneys, CPAs, financial advisors, counselors, and consultants.
The CITRMS course curriculum addresses such key areas as: the nature and forms of identity
Theft and related fraud; consumer protection laws and related requirements; the public
dossier and sources of information; Identity Theft risks and issues for businesses, including
information security laws, related requirements and liabilities, and risk management; Identity
Theft risk management services and anti-fraud resources; and more. To attain the
certification, CITRMS candidates must successfully complete a rigorous final exam designed
to thoroughly assess their comprehension of the course materials.
The Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist program is provided through a
cooperative effort between the award-winning Institute of Consumer Financial Education (www.
ICFE.info), and The Institute of Fraud Risk Management (www.TIFRM.com) . Indicative of
the ever-increasing threat of this emerging crime and the critical nature of providing business
owners and the public with the knowledge and tools to address and manage their risks, the
CITRMS certification course is accepted for professional continuing education credit by such
organizations as: the Certified Financial Planning Board of Standards for Certified Financial
Planners (CFP®); PACE and The American College for Chartered Life Underwriters (CLU)
and Chartered Financial Consultants (ChFC); the International Association of Registered
Financial Consultants for Registered Financial Consultants (RFC); and The Association for
Financial Counseling and Planning Education for Accredited Financial Consultants (AFC).
K.J. Anderson III
Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist
404-474-2273 office
Kj3rd@Kj3rd.com email
www.Kj3rd.com