Holiday cheer is all around us and winter is in the air, we feel the chill of the season and the happiness of the time of the year. No matter where we go it’s hard to hide from the fact that it’s almost Christmas time. With mistletoe and lit up trees all around, the presence of stocking hung with care we keep our spirits bright all through the day and night. While we all spend the days with family and friends the thought of financial and personal safety are hidden way deep within.

We seem to have a sort of blindness to things that can be bad and detrimental to us all. With the rising threat of criminal activity on the rise here are some things you need to keep in mind. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America and around the world; a new identity is stolen every 3 seconds. That’s 20 identities per minute and 240 an hour. If you think you’re safe from these crimes think again.

No one is safe from this. Your identity has several vulnerability points that can be penetrated, your medical records, your DMV records, your credit and social security as well. These are just 3 of the 5 points related to your identity. The most vulnerable point this Holiday Season is your financial identity and here are a few tips to help keep you protected from those who lurk to steal your information and benefit by destroying you in the process.

First and foremost you need to practice safe online shopping. Remember to never give out your personal information to an unsolicited email, only shop at trusted and known online stores and websites that you trust. Make sure that the checkout area is secure by locating the closed and locked padlock on your web browser’s window frame. This will help to ensure that your identity is safe from identity thieves.

All in all online shopping is more secure that going out to your favorite diner or restaurant. Simply due to the fact that there is no margin for human error; you see when you dine out or hand your credit card to a human who runs the transaction manually there is a possibility for the handler to copy your information and start charging away causing you to incur unauthorized charges. When you are online this risk is practically eliminated by secure encryption and light speed processing of the transaction with no human involved.

Secondly you need to remove unnecessary items from your wallet. While you are out on the town purchasing every item on your list you need to leave all of the unnecessary items at home. Lost checkbooks, wallets and credit cards account for 33% of all identity fraud. Only take the minimum with you the single card or checkbook that you will be using. This way amongst all of the confusion and chaos your other valuable items are safe at home.

You need to also have excellent record keeping; as soon as your statements arrive review them. With the ability to review statements online you have the upper hand. Your detailed organization and keen accounting skills will be a third defense of protection. You’ll need to keep your original receipts together for reconciling them against your statements. If you detect any discrepancies you’ll need to contact your bank or creditor immediately.

The most important step of course is having protection for your identity. You can watch, learn and become an identity specialist for your own protection, but who really has time to spend every second of every day performing these activities. In a matter of minutes your life can change without notice; will you be watching while your life becomes impacted? Having fraud monitoring alerts in place is an essential way to keep abreast of your circumstances while you grab a hold of life and get every piece of fulfillment that you can.

You need eyes watching over you while you’re away at work or play and while you’re off having fun while you are away. When you’re in that store this Holiday Season remember that others will be watching waiting and ready to pounce when the timing is right. Be alert now and always through your days protect your self from becoming a victim. Be smart use the tools and technology for your own advantage and defense. Shop smart, protect yourself and relax with ease; while everyone else scurries about carelessly meandering through the shopping malls and retailers unwillingly leaving their entire future wide open.

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Identity theft it happens all too often in this country. I heard this story from a close friend of mine a few years ago. It blew my mind away to learn just how far people will go to harm another. No there was no domestic violence or beating, no gunshots fired or a knife inflicted wound. Just a simple four word statement that would alter his life forever; “She stole my wallet.”

You see when she took his wallet in the course of the night her plans were laid out clearly. He was an affluent man of his community, a well respected entrepreneur and philanthropist. One night would prove him wrong and change the course of his life to a direction he had never imagined. From innocent to villain in 2.5 seconds flat.

Identity thieves are all around us. Scouring evidence from improperly disposed of medical records, purchase receipts, DMV databases, pre approved credit offers and so many other areas of your personal life that you wouldn’t have a chance in hell of competing with their cunningness. Identity thieves are out on a mission to steal your good name and forever ruin your ability to grow your credit or personal wealth by destroying everything credible about you.

In search of new ways to elude the peace keeping community and hide their corrupt identities behind new ones; think about it, a total protection plan for the criminal. Your good name stolen, funds and credit card charges racked up against you with no one else to blame. Our law enforcement officials are looking at you as the felon or co-conspirator in the event.

Most people think that their identities are safe because they stopped all of the junk mail to their personal residences, yet they are unaware of all areas that their identity’s can become affected. Let’s take a look at some of the ways your at risk…

1) Department of Motor Vehicles

Identity Thief could get a license in your name and accumulate tickets in your name. You could end up with a warrant issued for your arrest, as the identity thieves do not pay fines due nor show up for court to plead their violations.

2) Social Security Identity Theft

Identity Thief could use your SS# for employment or start business and you would be responsible for the tax bill. This has been a problem for some applying for work and finding their social security number is already working there at the business. A frequent cause is when illegal immigrants are sold Social Security numbers and fake ID cards to gain employment.

3) Medical Identity Theft

Medical identity theft occurs when someone uses a person’s name and sometimes other parts of their identity — such as insurance information — without the person’s knowledge or consent to obtain medical services or goods, or uses the persons identity information to make false claims for medical services or goods. Medical identity theft frequently results in erroneous entries being put into existing medical records, and can involve the creation of fictitious medical records in the victims’ name.

4) Criminal Identity Theft

Identity Thief could use your information to commit crimes, escape fines or jail time. You could be issued a warrant for your arrest for these crimes or fines not being paid.

5) Financial Identity Theft

Identity Thief could use your information to get money, goods or services leaving you responsible for the bill. This could be anything from new credit cards to new lines of credit issued in your name. Please note the Schedule E of liabilities covered by your bank that pertain to credit cards has a sixty day window. After that period, they are not legally obligated to reimburse any monies lost.

So when she took his wallet he was exposed to financial identity theft, social security identity theft and DMV identity theft just from a wallet. Now having all of this information the other areas of identity theft are wide open. So you see although his decision to have a quiet night out on the town turned fruitful for his evening when Mr. X woke up the next morning it was the worst nightmare in his entire life.

His credit cards had all been maxed out, a car had been purchased in his name and subsequently wrecked that same morning. Now who gets the bill for the damages? You guessed it; Mr. X. he was rudely woken from his slumber by a local Police Officer wanting to arrest him for a hit and run felony.

After a long and uneventful stay at the local Police Station Mr. X.’s Attorney finally arranged for the release of his client. This wasn’t the first time Identity Theft had been a problem in this community. Fortunately there was a lead on the case while Mr. X. had been in custody the thieves struck again at a local bank who immediately notified the armed guard and they took the perpetrator into custody.

Mr. X has been trying to untangle the web of debt from thievery and clear his good name but the process has been long and tedious. In keeping short and to the point if you think you’re out of the woods because you have poor credit or no credit think again. It’s not just your financial status thieves are after. It’s any aspect of your identity you can have exploited.

As long as the blame can have the finger pointed in a direction away from the real criminals you are still their best target for their defense. You need a shield to protect you from them. Your identity is everything to employers, education systems, financial institutions and more. I know you can see the importance of protection for you and your family. My question is who can you trust?

You need a name you can count on with a guarantee that will stand in your favor if the chips are down. A company that provides you not only with monitoring of your identity, also with a one million dollar guarantee that if your identity becomes stolen while you’re a customer they will pay to restore your identity to it’s good name. With that said know that all companies are not created equal. Learn to Maximize and Protect Your Wealth

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