Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Only 17 percent of ID Theft Victims were Notified!

According to a nationwide identity theft victim survey
recently released by Nationwide Mutual Insurance, only
17 percent were notified by a creditor or financial
institution of suspicious activity on their account.

Most states within the U.S.A., unlike California, do
not have disclosure laws requiring financial
institutions to notify consumers
when significant mass identity theft takes place.

So, it's up to the you, the consumer to be diligent in
monitoring your credit & banking accounts. Especially,
when you consider the average time delay (5.5 months
according to the survey) after the identity theft has
occurred before the victim realizes it has happened.

The lengthy time required coupled with the frustration
and expense of identity theft restoration, is the
primary reason we urge our subscribers to consider the
many available options from Fico and others to
proactively guard against identity theft.

Here's why - two key statistics from the survey:

"40% of the victims named either the police, financial
institutions or credit issuers as the most difficult
to work with while attempting to resolve their case."

"28% of identity theft victims indicate they have NOT
been able to restore their identities, despite
averaging more than a year trying."

Coming on the heels of the recently disclosed 40
million credit card consumers effected by the identity
theft break-in against the processor for MasterCard
International, checking your own accounts is not only
a wise investment but may ultimately prove to save you
a large amount of personal time (81 hours).

Stay tuned for more free, anonymous tips & reviews from ID Theft Secrets.