The holidays are a busy time. While you’re running from store to store finding the perfect gifts and shopping online to get the best deals, each transaction puts you at higher risk for identity theft.

The holidays are exciting for gift recipients just as much as they are for identity thieves. From everything like leveraging data breaches to using portable scanners to steal your money, identity thieves take advantage of every opportunity. You can prevent identity theft during the holidays (and year-round) to avoid false credit card charges and negative credit reports with an identity theft protection service.

Keep an Eye on Credit Card Statements

You’re likely to use your debit and credit cards a lot more during the holiday season. While you may be busy, don’t forget to take a few minutes out of your day to examine your statements and online activity reports. Set alerts on your accounts for large transactions, too. That way, if a large amount is charged or withdrawn, you’re alerted right away. Contact your financial institution the moment you notice an unauthorized charge.

Don’t Use Your Debit Card

Never use a debit card for purchases online or in-store. Checks and debit cards draw funds directly from your bank account. If an identity thief gets these numbers, they can use them to withdraw cash and even drain your bank accounts. It’s easier to report and reverse fraudulent charges with credit cards than it is with your bank account. And, of course, using an identity theft service is the best way to protect you from identity thieves during the holidays.

Use Credit Monitoring

There are a lot of free credit monitoring services that keep an eye on your balances, credit activity, and credit score. Sites like CreditKarma.com are totally free and allow you to view your credit report monthly. You can set alerts on these types of monitoring sites so that you’re notified the moment a new account, inquiry, or charge is made.

Be a Perceptive Online Shopper

It’s often easier to shop online than in-store, especially if you’re hunting for bargains. But don’t shop with any online retailer. Only use those with SSL certificates and other security measures in place. You can tell if a website has an SSL certificate by viewing URL at the top of your browser. It should begin with HTTPS instead of HTTP. If you can, stick to the big name online retailers like Amazon or large store chains when shopping online.

What if Your Identity is Stolen?

Even the most cautious of consumers can have their identities stolen. When it happens to you, you better be safeguarded by an identity theft protection and recovery service like ID360. The process of recovering your identity can cost over $3,000 and take as many as 600 hours of your time. It’s definitely the last thing you want to deal with around the holidays. Hiring an identity theft protection service allows you to focus on celebrating while a team of former law enforcement professionals work for you to help recover your good name and, of course, your credit.

Learn more about how you can protect your identity or how to sign up for identity theft services by visiting The Identity Advocate today.

Identity theft cases are growing at a staggering rate in the United States. While a lot more consumers are becoming aware of the risks and enlisting help via identity protection, most ignore the importance of having an ID theft recovery plan as well. The cost to recover your identity averages over $3,000 and could take as many as 600 hours. The entire process is tedious, time-consuming, frustrating, and could easily bankrupt you if you already have a dire financial situation.

But recovering from identity theft doesn’t have to be so devastating. In conjunction with identity protection, identity theft recovery services help keep your life in order when you become a victim of identity theft.

How ID Theft Recovery Services Can Help

Identity theft recovery companies are experts at handling the loss of your information. They track down the point of origin to help you discover what credit accounts are fraudulent. Then they go to work helping you restore your credit profile. They handle your recovery from multiple types of identity theft, including:

• Medical identity theft
• Data breaches
• Bank and/or credit card identity theft
• Government identity theft (e.g., Social Security fraud, Medicare fraud, etc.)
• Employment identity theft
• Phone and/or utilities identity theft
• Every other type of identity theft you can imagine—and there are many!

Steps An ID Theft Recovery Service Takes

Identity recovery requires experts, such as law enforcement professionals, who understand the complicated process of ID theft recovery. While the steps they take depend on the extent of your identity theft case, some services include:

• An expert who resolves all inaccurate information that appears on your credit report and/or medical records due to fraudulent activity.
• A professional who contacts financial institutions and other credit providers, and then closes down those accounts to ensure no further charges occur.
• Helping you file a police report as well as a report with other government agencies to thoroughly document the fraud.
• Cleaning up any fraudulent tax returns that may have been filed on your behalf, and working closely with the IRS as well as your state tax commission to correct those errors.

While identity protection is your first line of defense against ID theft, when identity theft does happen, having a respected ID theft recovery plan is place is critical. ID360 provides identity theft recovery services that give you peace of mind. From negotiating with creditors, obtaining your credit reports, dealing with your bank, filing FTC reports, and  assisting with correcting your medical records, the company ensures that you are able to return to the good credit you had before the identity theft occurred.

Get more identity theft protection and recovery advice from the experts at The Identity Advocate by visiting www.TheIdentityAdvocate.com or calling 310.831.4400.

Identity theft, including medical identity theft, is a growing threat in the United States. Unfortunately, too many consumers, healthcare providers, and businesses of all types and sizes ignore this threat.

The latest statistics still show that one out of four consumers have their identity stolen, equating to about 11.6 million identity theft victims a year. It’s also estimated that some sort of data breach will affect one out of ten consumers, and one out of eight patients will become a victim of medical identity theft.

The cost of identity theft is devastating. Hackers and thieves buy Social Security numbers for just $1.00, but you’ll spend thousands of dollars and countless hours recovering your identity. On the other hand, a person’s medical identity averages just $50, but insurance companies and the patients affected could spend millions in recovery costs.

All It Takes is the Right Data

Identity thieves only need a few key items to steal an identity. A Social Security number, name, date of birth, and a driver’s license number can reveal everything a thief needs. Thanks to the Internet, identity thieves can go to work doing reverse lookups and other searches using the limited information they find, and then gather the other data they need to steal your identity.

Thieves have several outlets at their disposal to steal identities, including:

• Dumpster diving (or your own trash cans)
• Stealing mail
• Check washing
• Stealing wallets and purses
• Performing telephone and email scams
• Obtaining death records

It’s Not Just Professionals

Identity theft is not just perpetrated by professional thieves. In fact, relatives and friends of victims—and even healthcare workers—steal identities every day. Cyber thieves are the most common in data breaches and system hacks.

Everyone is at Risk for Identity Theft

While the elderly are common targets of identity theft, they’re certainly not the only people at risk. Elderly individuals are, however, at higher risk because most are not computer savvy, do not know how to check their credit reports, and are more trusting, which means they’re more likely to fall victim to scams.

The second most vulnerable group is children. Children have clean credit slates and most parents are not proactive at monitoring their child’s credit report. Parents can, however, sign up their children for CreditKarma.com to keep an eye on their credit profile. Also, parents should teach their children to never share personal information (including dates of birth and Social Security numbers) with people they don’t know.

The deceased are also at risk for identity theft. Sadly, thieves look for obituaries to find the information they need to steal the deceased person’s identity. Since most family members do not check the credit of their deceased loved ones, it can be years before the identity theft is ever noticed.

Veterans are also at risk. Because they leave the United States for extended periods, serving their country, thieves take advantage of the fact that they’re unlikely going to check their credit report.

Lastly, people who use social media unwisely are at risk for identity theft. This is because they publicly broadcast their personal information and leave it ripe for the taking by identity thieves.

Medical Identity Theft Cases Are on the Rise

While identity theft is a common occurrence, medical identity theft is growing quickly as well. It’s estimated that 5.8 percent of identity theft cases are medical identity theft crimes—and most arise from medical data breaches. But medical identity theft is also dangerous. It can result in not receiving the right type of treatment due to incorrect medical records, which can lead to adverse reactions and, worse, death.

Preventing Identity Theft

There are many steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft. While there isn’t a 100 percent effective method to prevent it, these steps are proven to limit the likelihood of your identity being stolen in the future.

• Become a member of ID360, the only identity theft protection company that’s run by law enforcement and recovers your identity after it’s stolen.
• Shred everything that has your name, address, and personal information on it (including junk mail).
• Place a fraud alert with credit bureaus so that they scrutinize new credit accounts.
• Use a gel pen so that your checks and signatures cannot be washed.
• Never put your Social Security number on documents and do not carry your Social Security card with you.
• Review your credit reports annually and look for any unauthorized applications or accounts.

You must take your prevention steps even further to prevent medical identity theft:

• Always check your explanation of benefit documents you receive in the mail, and make sure the services you are charged for were actually received.
• Request and review an annual “benefits paid” statement from your insurance company.
• Keep copies of your own health records for reference.
• Never share your insurance card with anyone.
• Shred medical documents when they are no longer relevant.
• Do not take advantage of free medical care or surveys.
• Report a stolen insurance card immediately.
• Never throw away prescriptions with your name on it.

What to Do When Your Identity is Stolen

There are things you can do to lessen the impact identity theft and medical identity theft have on your life:

• Call 877-ID-Theft and speak to the FTC immediately.
• Call your local police department and file an official report.
• Put a fraud alert on your credit report with all three credit bureaus, and then freeze your credit so it can no longer be used.
• Get copies of all three credit reports.
• Cancel all credit cards in your name.
• Contact your bank and give them copies of your official reports, and freeze your checking and savings accounts.

For more information about how you can prevent identity theft and medical identity theft from happening to you, visit The Identity Advocate. You’ll learn all of the ways you can protect your identity and how to recover it when it’s stolen. You can also contact the identity theft experts at The Identity Advocate by calling 310.831.4400.

Are There Employee Criminal Background Check Laws?

Yes! They vary by state, but the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) set national standards for performing an employee criminal background check. The law only applies to an employee criminal background check conducted by a consumer reporting agency, which is a firm that administers the employee criminal background check on your behalf. If you decide to perform an employee criminal background check in-house, make sure you follow your state’s background check laws carefully. Remember: Employees have rights, too!

According to the FCRA, some information cannot be reported in an employee criminal background check:

• Accounts in collection longer than seven years
• Paid tax liens beyond seven years
• Bankruptcies after ten years
• Arrest records, civil suits, and civil judgments after seven years

Linda Vincent, Founder of The Identity Advocate, is dedicated to helping consumers and businesses keep their identities safe. This article first appeared in the newsletter provided by The Identity Advocate.

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You trust in your physician to take care of you. You trust them to prescribe medications, diagnose symptoms when you’re sick, and help you maintain a healthy lifestyle. But is your physician doing something else—something nefarious—that you don’t know about? He or she could be committing healthcare fraud—at your expense!

Healthcare fraud and abuse is on the rise in the United States. From physicians billing for services you don’t receive to performing unnecessary procedures, healthcare fraud and abuse takes a serious toll on your health and insurance. While most physicians do it to pad their revenue, these false claims, medical orders, and prescriptions put your life at risk.

Billing Schemes

Physician billing schemes are one of the most common types of healthcare fraud and abuse. He or she will bill your health insurance for services that were never provided and collect reimbursements for those services. This can occur in many ways, from a chiropractor billing your insurance for five visits when you only visited twice, to a physician charging you for expensive medications (like those used to treat kidney disease, cancer, or HIV) that you don’t need or didn’t receive.

Physicians have also been known to offer in-house CT machines and bill your insurance for scans that were never scheduled, let alone performed. Or a physician may perform a procedure to add a stent you don’t really need just to be able to bill your insurance and collect a claim. All of these extra charges and expensive services can impact both your insurance premiums and your health. The list of offenses goes on and on.

Upcoding For Higher Claim Amounts

Upcoding is another common form of healthcare fraud and abuse. This is a process where the physician charges for a higher service than what was actually performed. For example, you visit your physician for a routine office visit, which has its own code and reimbursement amount. However, your physician charges your insurance for an extended office visit, which costs more. According to recent statistics, making a simple code change like this could increase a physician’s revenue by $70,000. While his or income is increasing, yours is declining as you watch your insurance premiums steadily rise.

How to Fight Healthcare Fraud and Abuse

As frightening as all of this is, you can take steps to protect yourself:

• Review your billing statements and explanation of benefits (EOB) from your insurance provider. Verify that the charges made by your physician coincide with services, medications, and equipment you actually received. If you are confused, or feel you did not receive services, call the physician immediately!
• Annually request all treatment paid for by your insurance carrier. Compare them to your EOBs. If you find discrepancies, notify your carrier immediately.
• Request receipts when you pay at your physician’s office, as well as a receipt of all services performed.
• If you choose to pay cash for a service, watch for an EOB that the provider also charged your insurance provider.

Despite all you do to fight back against healthcare fraud and abuse, 10 to 30 percent of all medical patients fall victim. Get extra protection by hiring a fraud and abuse expert that specializes in safeguarding you from the consequences of these types of physician practices. Whatever you do, be proactive to prevent it from happening to you.

Make the Right Move

Consider signing up for an identity theft protection plan with a company like ID360, the only one managed by law enforcement that also restores your identity back to pre-theft status after it’s stolen. You can also discover helpful resources over at The Identity Advocate, and contact an experienced investigator to learn more about resolving healthcare fraud and identity theft. Fight back!

Related Articles:

• Is Your Medical Device Putting You At Risk For Identity Theft?
• The Right Prescription to Prevent Medical Identity Theft
• Are You At Risk For ObamaCare Identity Theft Scams?

Online job searching has opened up a world of opportunities for job seekers. You can do everything from the comfort of home—from performing research to distributing resumes to submitting applications. Most companies prefer the online hiring process, too. It’s simply a more efficient way for both employers and employees to connect.

But job-hunting online also has its drawbacks, including a much higher risk for resume identity theft. Identity thieves know that many job seekers are desperate, and are willing to provide whatever information is requested to secure an interview. The result can be financial ruin for a job seeker who has done nothing wrong other than try to adhere to application requirements.

Thieves use a variety of tactics to commit resume identity theft:

• Collecting your personal information: Identity thieves will gather as much information from you as they can. If you use a job site that allows you to post your resume, you’re at risk for identity theft because anyone with a profile can access it. It just takes a keyword search and a quick look at your resume to collect your name, address, phone number, former employers, and any other personal data you’ve included.
• Fake job listings: Identity thieves also create fake job listings to gather job seekers’ personal information. They may even take it as far as to have an online interview with you. Before offering you the position, they will ask for some type of verification (such as a bank statement or utility bill). They then use this information to access your identity and their scam is off and running.
• Unemployment scams: These prey on people who are desperate to earn money while they’re out of work. They offer to help you file for unemployment, only to steal your Social Security number, date of birth, and other personal information to hijack your identity.

Protecting Yourself From Resume Identity Theft

Before you apply for a job, do a little research on the company to make sure it even exists. Does it have a website and/or a social media presence? How does the information on the website compare to the job description? Also, never give out your personal information to companies online—regardless of whether they say it’s necessary for the job. An employer should never need your Social Security number, driver’s license number, or other personal information before meeting with you in person. If you will be working remotely, you should at least have a phone interview and a signed job offer before sharing your information.

You leave yourself vulnerable to identity theft when you provide the following types of information on your resume or on a job application online:

• Social Security number
• Date of birth
• Gender
• Mother’s maiden name
• Marital status
• Driver’s license number
• The year you graduated school and the name of the school
• Professional license number

Tips for Safe Online Job Searching

Watch out for these resume identity theft red flags as you perform your job search:

• If an employer requests your Social Security number on an online job application, contact the company to ask why it needs this information just to process the application. Explain that you will provide it following the interview and a firm job offer.
• Contact the company directly from its website and/or verify its corporate phone number, and always make sure the person interviewing you actually works there.
• Look at the email address of the person requesting your information. If the domain name doesn’t match the company, it is unlikely that he/she works for the company.

Above all, be cautious and don’t be too quick to provide your personal information during an online job search. It can be a frustrating process already; the last thing you want to do is become yet another victim of resume identity theft. Remember that you should always be researching companies as much as they’re researching you.

We recommend that you be proactive and protect your identity before, during, and after a job search by signing-up with ID Theft Solutions, the only identity theft protection company that restores your identity back to pre-theft status when it’s stolen. You can also connect with us here at The Identity Advocate to learn more about protecting yourself and your family from identity theft.

Related Blog Posts:

• Think Credit Monitoring Prevents Identity Theft? Think Again
• Tax Refund Identity Theft: What You Need to Know
• Is Your Social Media Profile Putting You at Risk For Identity Theft?

In the wake of the recent Target data breach, in which identity thieves gained access to the personal information of at least 70 million customers, the company announced it would offer free credit monitoring for a year. While this is a good first step for the retail giant, it gives affected customers false hope.

At face value, credit monitoring seems like an attractive service. After all, it helps detect suspicious activity on your credit report and gives you a heads-up about potential problems. But many credit monitoring companies market their service as being an identity theft protection plan. This simply isn’t the case.

The reality is that credit monitoring is just what it says it is: monitoring. It doesn’t prevent identity theft or your credit from being hijacked. Considering the fact that one in four data breach notification recipients become a victim of identity theft, simply monitoring these attacks isn’t enough. You need to proactively take steps to protect both your credit and your identity.

Credit Monitoring Gives a False Sense of Security

Credit monitoring services alert you when any type of new account appears on your credit report. Unfortunately, by this time the identity theft has often already happened. Credit monitoring didn’t prevent the theft; it simply notified you of the fraudulent activity so you could start the long process of trying to repair your credit.

Look at credit monitoring as being only a small part of a comprehensive identity theft protection plan. Keep in mind that, although you’re alerted when changes occur on your credit report, some events may go unnoticed or even be reported incorrectly. Many consumers don’t discover that their identity has been stolen until debt collectors show up at the door.

The same goes for three-in-one services that offer to monitor all three credit reporting bureaus. These methods aren’t secure because an identity thief can still open accounts in your name without actually having your credit report pulled. There is also an extensive delay between when an account is opened and when it shows up on your credit report. By the time you’re notified, the identity thief could have dozens of accounts already opened and racking up debt.

Tips for Preventing Identity Theft

You need an identity theft protection plan to keep thieves from using your information in the first place. A few tips:

• Be proactive and sign-up for identity theft protection with ID Theft Solutions, the only company managed by law enforcement that restores your identity back to pre-theft status.
• Be cautious of the websites you visit and the Internet connections you use to access them. Public networks aren’t secure and identity thieves can easily gain access to your computer, email accounts, and bank accounts.
• Never share personal information via email, over the phone, or with anyone you don’t know well. Identity thieves like to impersonate customer service representatives and ask to verify your birthday, Social Security number, or other personal data. If you’re not expecting contact, hang up and call the company back at a phone number you can trust.
• Lock up your financial and medical information, and shred documents you no longer need.
• Implement a credit freeze and check your credit card statements at least once a month for suspicious activity. You can also sign up with CreditKarma.com to check your credit score and also receive monthly monitoring for free—without your credit being affected in any way.
• Add a fraud alert to your credit report if you suspect you’re at risk for fraud (such as using a debit or credit card during the Target data breach debacle).

Whatever you do, don’t just depend on credit monitoring as your identity theft protection plan. With one new victim every three seconds, identity theft is a growing problem that shows no signs of letting up. Visit The Identity Advocate to start safeguarding your identity today, and don’t forget to join our mailing list to have identity theft prevention tips delivered to your inbox each month.

As another year comes to an end and we prepare our tax returns, the IRS and other government officials are preparing for an increase in tax refund identity theft. In 2011, the IRS missed over 1.1 million fraudulent tax returns and paid out over $3.6 billion in fraudulent tax refunds.

Fortunately, this year they’re taking more precautions to protect taxpayer identities. Even with these precautions, it’s important for you to know how to protect yourself from becoming another victim of tax refund identity theft.

How to Know if Your Tax Return or Records Have Been Affected

Identity thieves file fraudulent tax returns using legitimate taxpayers’ information. They file a fake tax return on your behalf, collect the refund, and repeat the process with another taxpayer. They often do this early in the tax season—before you are likely to file yours—so you’re often unaware a fraudulent tax return was even submitted in your name until much later.

Taxpayers only discover they’re victims of tax refund identity theft when they attempt to file a legitimate return. The IRS will reject the tax return and typically sends a notification stating that:

• More than one tax return has already been filed
• There is a balance due or collection actions have been taken for unfiled tax returns
• The IRS has realized you’ve received wages from employers that you don’t know

If you receive any notification from the IRS, you must respond immediately. You will be required to fill out IRS Form 14039 if you believe you’re the victim of tax refund identity theft.

Tips for Protecting Yourself From Tax Fraud

There are many things you can do to prevent identity theft when you submit this year’s tax return. While you should always protect your personal information, you should also:

• Sign-up with ID Theft Solutions, the only identity theft protection company managed by law enforcement that restores your identity back to pre-theft status.
• Never carry your Social Security card with you or any documents that have your Social Security number on it. If your purse/wallet is lost or stolen, a thief can easily gain access to your identity.
• Never give out your Social Security number just because someone requests it—especially a supposed phone call from a government official. The IRS will never initiate contact with you via the phone, so you are probably speaking with someone who is trying to commit tax refund identity theft. If you have any questions about the status of your tax return, hang up and call the IRS directly.
• Lock up or shred documents containing personal information or financial data.
• Review your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus at least once a year for any fraudulent activity.
• Use firewalls, anti-virus software, and regularly update your computer’s security patches to avoid giving identity thieves access to your information via the Internet.
• Never give out personal information over email, the phone, or through snail-mail without verifying the sender.

Lastly, always keep your eye on the news for any new consumer reports regarding tax fraud or tax refund identity theft scams that could affect you. The IRS and news outlets often publish examples of fake emails and phone calls scammers use to impersonate IRS officials.

For more information about protecting yourself this tax season or advice to help you avoid tax refund identity theft, visit The Identity Advocate or call 310.831.4400. We can help safeguard your identity throughout the year from all forms of theft (and there are many!). You can also join our mailing list to have identity theft prevention tips delivered to your inbox each month.

The Affordable Care Act has been in the news a lot lately—website failures, blunders, missed deadlines, just to name a few—but now a new trend is popping up with ObamaCare. Now there is an increased risk of identity theft to add to the list of issues with the new healthcare law. Navigators, the professionals who are supposed to help guide consumers into the right affordable healthcare plan, are proving to be the biggest identity theft threat of all.

Identity Theft Threats Through ObamaCare

ObamaCare identity theft is a real concern, especially when you consider the lack of protective measures put in place. According to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, there is no federal requirement for navigators to undergo criminal background checks. Although a handful of states do require background checks, she acknowledged that it is possible for convicted felons to be navigators and gather consumers’ sensitive personal information. When you also consider that navigators only have to complete 20 to 30 hours of training—even though they’re essentially doing the same job as certified health insurance agents—there are obviously many reasons to worry.

But navigators aren’t the only risk here. The government databases used for ObamaCare store consumers’ personal, financial, and medical information—data that is shared with seven separate agencies including the IRS, Social Security Administration, and Department of Justice. These databases alone increase the likelihood of ObamaCare identity theft. With open enrollment through the health insurance exchanges running through March 2014, you will want to take the proper precautions to avoid becoming another victim of identity theft.

How to Protect Yourself from ObamaCare Identity Theft

As a consumer you have to be proactive to protect your identity. The elderly, disabled, and small business owners are at higher risk than other consumers for identity theft through ObamaCare, but you are at risk even if you don’t fall into these groups. Perform your due diligence and look out for the following:

• Never give out your personal information to anyone calling and representing themselves as government officials for ObamaCare. The government will never ask for your personal information—including your bank account or credit card information—to obtain insurance. You won’t be contacted via phone, email, text, or even at your door for anything related to the new healthcare law, so anyone telling you otherwise is probably participating in an ObamaCare identity theft scam. Legitimate navigators will not make unsolicited contact with you or ask you to pay a fee for their services.
• Watch out for fake ObamaCare or Medicare identification card scams. Identity thieves have been known to contact consumers claiming that they must have an ObamaCare identification card, but there are no such cards involved with the new healthcare law. Similarly, scammers are telling consumers that they need to verify their personal information to continue receiving their Medicare benefits. Again, not true.
• Avoid fraudulent or “dummy” websites. Creating websites that appear to be official is another favorite tactic of scammers. You can easily avoid this type of ObamaCare identity theft by only going to www.healthcare.gov, the official government healthcare site. From there you can trust links directing you to the official websites operated by individual state governments.

Whatever you do, never provide your personal information—including Social Security number, date of birth, and financial account numbers—to setup your new healthcare plan. Remember that the government already has your personal information, so no government representatives will ever ask you to provide it. If you are uncomfortable using the healthcare.gov website to sign-up, you can also call 1.800.318.2596 for personal assistance completing the application process.

For more tips to prevent ObamaCare identity theft scams—and every other form of identity theft—visit The Identity Advocate or call us at 310.831.4400. You can also get identity theft protection today with ID Theft Solutions, the only identity theft prevention and recovery firm we endorse. Your identity is always at risk, but with the right tools in your arsenal you can combat identity theft and keep your personal information safe.