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by Frank W. Abagnale
Stealing Your Life is more frightening than a gory murder mystery. Any one of us, from cradle to grave, is vulnerable to a swindle that can wreck us emotionally, cost us serious money, ruin our credit ratings, and take us years to straighten out. Identity theft is here to stay, and as long as legislators, businesses, law enforcement agencies, and individuals fail to take it seriously, the number of victims will continue to climb.
For thirty-two years, the author has been a law-abiding citizen; his criminal past, famously recounted in the book and film "Catch Me If You Can," is a distant memory. However, he knows how crooks think, and this knowledge has led to a lucrative career as a consultant for the FBI and corporations all over the world in preventing frauds and scams. Abagnale is horrified at how easy and tempting identity theft is for the budding criminal. He calls it "a crook's dream come true."
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Identity Theft Insurance - Should You Get One?
Despite the recent drop in cases of identity theft and fraud among adult Americans (from over 10 million in 2003 to 9 million for 2006), a significant market still exists for identity theft insurance.
Part of the reason is the many horror stories played up in the media, but it is also partly because identity theft insurance costs are very low.
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Many find it better to purchase a $25 identity theft insurance policy than to have to worry about the consequences of an increasingly electronically driven lifestyle.
So you have companies like MetLife Auto & Home, American International Group, Travelers, Farmers Group, etc. offering identity theft insurance.
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Aside from entry-level $25 policies (which offer $15,000 worth of coverage), these companies also offer $50-$60 policies (approximately $25,000 in coverage).
All these factors have combined to make identity theft insurance the fastest growing insurance product in years.
Experts suggest that your identity theft insurance plan, if you do decide to get one, should only be a rider on your existing policy, so check first with your insurance company.
But do you really need identity theft insurance? Well if you ask your insurance company (or surf their website), they'd probably make a pretty convincing case for buying some. What you don't hear to often is the case AGAINST buying identity theft insurance.
Identity Theft Insurance - Why Experts Say You May Not Need It?
Identity theft insurance was designed to pay for the cost of fixing your credit standing. This may include reimbursements for notary costs, telephone bills, certified mailing expenses, lost wages, loan re-application fees, and certain legal fees.
So why shouldn't you avail yourself of identity theft insurance? Critics offer these five reasons.
1. It may increase your risk of being victimized because it makes you complacent.
Although cases of identity theft are indeed going up, some statisticians peg the odds of being victimized as not worth the cost. What's more, the FTC says that less than half the victims spend more than $1,000 to fix the problem.
The only thing that the American insurance industry and critics of identity theft insurance agree on is this: the best insurance is still prevention.
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Index of Articles about Indentity Theft
What Other Authors say about Indentify Theft
Thieves of Identity
by Tony Robinson
Thieves come in all forms, including dressed in business attire, sweats, or tuxedos. Identity thieves are government reps, bankers, religious leaders, famous persons, homemakers, cops, lawyers and so forth.... Social Security identity theft figures in many complaints received by the Federal Trade Commission since it gives the perpetrator the flexibility in terms of the kind of identity fraud he can commit. Unlike... Identity theft victims are on the rise and as the years go by more and more people are falling into the hands of these perpetrators. Now that our economy is in recession, it is especially time to protect... Each year identity theft is on the increase according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Since 2004, a shocking rate of eleven "million" have fallen victim of identity theft. At the same time, experts... The United States government and consumer organizations have compiled some of the best identity theft resource materials around. Many of them are available as virtual handbooks in PDF format at these three... Millions of Americans use credit cards, take out money from savings and checking accounts, write checks, and open new bank accounts everyday. By completing these everyday tasks, many Americans put themselves... The identity theft cases reported by the US media in recent years just goes to show how vulnerable Americans are to this rapidly growing, white-collar crime. Identity fraud (which includes identity theft... Getting past identity theft nowadays is next to impossible. The World Wide Web has made it easier for identity thieves to gain access to millions of files by merely tracing tracks. When a person goes onto... Credit identity theft can be done in either of two ways: through a credit card or a credit line or account. An identity thief may counterfeit your card, or use your account number at a vendor website,... Medical identity theft costs the American insurance industry as much as $180 billion annually. The reason for this is that transactions are increasingly depending on the Internet to expedite processes,... Preventing identity theft has been successful, not only because of public vigilance, but also because of government measures. Based on Federal Trade Commission statistics, the growth of identity theft... A leading identity theft expert used the credit industry's annual conference to show that the government has massively over-hyped public fear of the extent of identity fraud to sell its Identity Cards... |
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