Identity Theft is a major problem in America.

Think you're not at risk? Unfortunately, you are.

Do you hand your credit card to servers at restaurants?
Do you sign your credit cards?
Do you supply personal information over the internet?
Do you keep your Social Security number in your wallet or purse?
Do you always give your Social Security number when asked for it?
Do you leave mail at your home or business for the postal carrier to collect?
Do you shred unwanted mail with personal information?

What if it happened to you? Would you even know where to start?
Call your bank and/or credit card company
Contact the three major credit repositories
Go through the helpful but extensive steps recommended by the Federal Trade Commission in its 30-page consumer support publication
Fill out and submit the affidavit form supplied by the FTC to dispute new, unauthorized accounts
Spend on average $1,200 in out-of-pocket expenses and an average of 175 hours in your efforts to resolve the many problems caused by identity thieves

Or, with the Identity Theft Shield:
Get REGULAR monitoring of your credit report and let the proven leaders in the identity restoration and legal services fields assist you

Most of us discover what identity theft is all about after it happens*

"I applied for a loan and was refused. My credit was a mess."

"Someone used my information to obtain a cell phone... since then, I've been living a nightmare..."

"When I renewed my drivers license I was surprised to find someone else's picture on it..."

"My wallet was stolen... there has been no end to the problems since... fraudulent checks, bad credit lines..."

You're held responsible for a forgery.**

A collection agent demands payment for a car you never bought.

** What do you do? As one victim noted, "I've spent two years trying to repair my credit."



27.3 Million victims in the U.S. in the last 5 years.***

Identity theft is so prevalent because your information is out there. Every credit card or loan or credit line you've ever applied for, every college you've attended , every job you've had, every magazine you've ever subscribed to may have your account names and numbers and personal information; countless databases that can be compromised!




Identity Theft is easy.
There are 240 valid forms of drivers license in the U.S.****
10,000 different agencies can issue birth certificates.****
2/3rds of identity theft begins with employee theft of data.***
FTC Reports 9.9 million identities stolen in 2003.



What does the Identity Theft Shield Cover?

Credit Reports -Evaluate your current credit standing with:
An up-to-date credit report through Experian at no added cost
A personal credit score calculated by an independent scoring service
A detailed analysis of your personal credit score
Experts recommend that you review your credit report regularly. The Identity Theft ShieldSM makes it easy.
Continuous Credit Monitoring
Suspicious activation will be brought to your attention, providing you with early detection.
You'll receive prompt notice if the credit repository is notified by Experian that:
New accounts have been opened in your name
Derogatory notations have been added to your credit report
Public records have been added to your report
Inquiries have been made against your report
A change of address has been requested
Identity Restoration

Identity theft can be devastating, and the process of restoring your name can be overwhelming and costly. You need more than "do it yourself" information if it happens to you.

With Identity Theft Shield a trained expert will take the steps to restore your name and credit for you!

Help reduce your out of pocket expenses and time spent away from work with valuable services from detection to resolution.

Fraud alert notifications will be sent on your behalf and applicable follow up will be done with affected agencies and institutions, including: credit card companies, financial institutions, all three credit repositories, Social Security Administration, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Motor Vehicles, law enforcement personnel, and the U.S. Postal Service.
Proactive searches of applicable local and national databases will be made on your behalf to look for information you may not be aware of, including: criminal activity in your name in your county’s records and certain federal watch lists, Department of Motor Vehicle records in your state, unknown addresses affiliated with your name, and banking activity in your name reported as fraudulent.

Each year it happens to countless victims who innocently give their credit cards to servers in restaurants.

Even if you are cautious when making an ATM transaction, identity thieves can be watching you type in your PIN or rig a bank machine to copy your bank card.

Shredding may not be enough to keep dumpster divers from finding copies of your checks, credit card statements and other personal paperwork that leads to identity theft.

It’s not just online purchases that are vulnerable to identity theft. In fact, online transactions are a small majority of identity fraud cases.

You should know that identity theft happens every day to people from all walks of life.

What can you do to combat this crime?

The Identity Theft ShieldSM provides a suite of service designed with detection and restoration in mind.

Identity Theft ShieldSM is an affordable solution to combat a growing crime that knows no boundaries.

CREDIT REPORT : An up to date Experian credit report, including your personal credit report. (products include single or three credit bureau montioring)

CONTINUOUS MONITORING : Continuous montioring if your credit file at Experian means you will be alerted about new activity.Continuous montioring if your credit file at Experian means you will be alerted about new activity.

IDENTITY RESTORATION : Identity restoration means that licensed investigators will work to correct damages caused by identity theft. This includes working with affected public agencies, like the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Postal Service and law enforcement personnel. In addition, fraud alerts will be sent on your behalf to all three credit repositories and affected companies and agencies. Finally, proactive searches of applicable local and national databases will be made on your behalf (to look for information you may not be aware of).

Visit http://www.kolbertgroup.com/

1. Social Security Numbers - someone earns income under your number and the IRS contacts you to pay the taxes.

2. Driver's License - an individual uses your drivers license number and is arrested for DUI but never shows up to court - You get the call.

3. Medical Information - a person runs up doctor bills in your name or worse yet, is positive for AIDS and it goes in your file.

4. Character/ Criminal Actions - someone commits a crime in your name and you must prove your innocent.

5. Financial Transactions - most often referred to as credit card or bank fraud. Someone steals your account numbers/passwords and spends your money.

Watch a video of Michael McCoy, author of The Silent Crime and Who is You?, founder of the Identity Theft Institute and considered the world's foremost authority on Identity Theft

There are plenty of common-sense things you can do to curb your risk of identity theft: shred personal documents, guard your Social Security number, and monitor your credit report. But if you really want to roll out the big guns, put a security freeze on your credit file.
A freeze bars anyone from having access to your credit report and credit score without your permission, which means identity thieves will have a tough time opening an account in your name—even if they know your name, date of birth, and Social Security number. That's because lenders generally won't issue new credit without first seeing a credit report.
See Full Article

To check fees in your state and get instructions on how to place a credit freeze, go to consumersunion.org/securityfreeze.htm.

If identity thieves were to disregard your financial accounts and instead target your medical information, your first thought might well be, "Take my medical identity. Please." What nut would want your high cholesterol, trick knee, and family history of Alzheimer's? The answer is simple: one without health insurance who needs surgery or prescription drugs, or someone who sees a medical ID as the open sesame that will allow him or her to collect millions in false medical claims. These thieves don't actually want your medical ailments, of course, but by pretending to be you they can get what they're really after.
See Full Article

Identity theft is on the rise. Tax time could make you more vulnerable, and peer-to-peer file sharing of movies and music can leave you more exposed.
By ANTHONY BARTKEWICZ, MyFox National
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/dpgo_Risk_of_ID_Theft_Increases_at_Tax_Time2219018

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In another sign of the tough economy, a new Nationwide Insurance survey found that nearly half of respondents said that if their identity were stolen today, they did not know if they had enough money in reserve to weather the recovery process.
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090316005705&newsLang=en

A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday the government has been overstepping the boundaries of identity theft legislation when targeting immigrants who use phony citizenship documents to acquire jobs.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/supreme-court-feds-abusing-identity-theft-law/

An extortion demand seeks $10 million to return more than 8 million patient records allegedly stolen from Virginia Department of Health Professions.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/attacks/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=217201397