Stolen Lives: Identify Theft Prevention Made Simple
by John D. Sileo
Published by DaVinci Publishing
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Reviewed by Connie Anderson
Who does identify theft happens to? To everyone because the thieves are more diligent about stealing our identify than we are at protecting it.
The book's stories really brought the reality home. For example...
A thief observed Michelle opening her health club locker. She knew Michelle's workout habits and timeline. While she exercised, the thief stole her wallet, and while in her purse, noted her cell phone number. Once Michelle returned to her locker, she noticed her wallet was missing--but nothing else. So she rushed to her car, thinking she left it there. Her cell phone rang. It was the bank stating someone was using her information--and she should verify information so they could verify her identity. In her panic and stress, she CONFIRMED to "the bank" her PIN and Social Security number, mother's maiden name--giving them everything the thief needed need to start using her identity immediately.
Sound farfetched?
Read and act on information in this book so you don't join Michelle and others. Need I say more? If you haven't noticed the increase in "experts" talking about this subject, you have your head in the sand.
Stolen Lives: Identify Theft Prevention Made Simple will (or better) scare every ounce of complacency out of you. It did me!
We're just too darn nice, helpful, trusting, careless with how we discard or store vital information--and we don't believe that we could become a victim. My favorite thought: "Know when to say NO."
In 2004 alone, it is estimated that 9.3 million people have become victims of identify thief. The author tells us to "think like a spy," being aware of your surroundings. Our "spy" radar must be up and alert every second.
The information in these hot topics are worth the read and tell everyone about!
-- 6 spy-style interrogation techniques to protect yourself.
-- 5 things you should NEVER CARRY in your wallet or purchase.
-- 8 places your ID protection may be leaking, and how to stop the flow.
-- 8 tip offs an ID thief may be trying to con you into releasing information.
-- 10 "weapons" you can use to keep personal info from being collected online.
Author and identify theft victim John Sileo is Harvard educated--but even his ID was stolen--twice.
Unfortunately, as an editor and one who writes a lot of book reviews, I wish the author had not made it so hard to read and find the information. I persevered because I really wanted to learn what he had to teach, but it was a challenge. Be patient and the "meat of information" will be worth it. His ideas have brought up much discussion (and action) in our home.
Armchair Interviews says: This book will help you see you should lock up every vital document as if they were cash-because to identity thieves, they are CASH. We no longer can afford to be so trusting.