I am hearing of more and more instances where companies and governmental agencies have had personal information for individuals stolen. Identity thieves are very smart individuals. At the rate that this information is missing, they are apparently getting smarter.
Following an internal audit of the U.S. Census Bureau, the following was discovered:
217 laptops
46 portable data storage devices
15 handheld devices
All of the above was discovered to be stolen or missing from inventory. They audit shows that this started back in 2003.
You would think an agency associated with the Government would be even more protective.
What can you do about it?
The simple solution is to have your credit monitored. The first place the majority of identity thefts occur is with a simple credit check. If there is anything out of the ordinary happening with your credit report, you would be notified.
I have many ask who I trust. I only trust www.Truecredit.com. Although I have appeared in their national advertising campaign, I receive no monetary compensation for promoting their business. In fact, we have arranged to pass on any promotional fees that we would receive to Prudent Money listeners.
If you go to this link, you can get $ 5 off their 3 in 1 credit report package. They have some great packages. The most important is the credit monitoring for all 3 agencies. I think that everyone should have this service. They also have a package where you get the credit monitoring along with unlimited views of your credit reports. I cannot think of a better combination!
Credit monitoring along with being pro-active with your credit reports represents the first line of defense to Identity Theft!
