The news this week about the eleven people being charged in an Identity theft ring really made me stop and think -- about how careless I have most likely been in the past with my credit card numbers. Identity theft is like so many other things unfortunately where people tend to think that it won't happen to them.
But as so many people are soon to find out after the arrests this week, identity theft can happen to anyone. This was the biggest largest identity theft case in our nation's history, and it is very unsettling that thieves are getting away with this activity.
But we can do things as consumers to help protect ourselves against the crime of identity theft. Registering with legitimate credit companies and periodically checking our credit reports is important. And registering for fraud alert services so we can be notified of any suspicious activities on our credit card accounts is imperative as well.
We all get so busy with our daily lives and tend to forget to be careful with information. Even finding time to check over a credit card statement can be difficult. There are consumer protection services like lifelock, that can help protect consumers from identity theft.
As consumers we need to be proactive. I can't imagine how scary and upset all the victims of this identity theft ring are going to be when they realize their identities were stolen.
