June 2022

June 29, 2022

10 Tips to Reduce Your Risk of Identity Theft

Whether you are a consumer or a small-business owner Identity Theft should be top of mind. Protect yourself and your business by using these 10 tips to reduce your risk of identity theft. First, what is Breach Fatigue or Alarm Fatigue? Alarm fatigue is when we get desensitized to safety alerts and as a result, ignore or fail to respond appropriately to warnings. Breach Fatigue however is more specific. It’s when small business owners and consumers start to ignore the headlines of identity theft and data breaches. Fatigue desensitizes both business owners and consumers to be less likely to proactively protect themselves against the risks of identity theft. Be proactive and prepared with these 10 Tips Being proactive and prepared can reduce your exposure to the risks of identity theft. Personal privacy Be more vigilant and hands-on with your personal-privacy settings. Also, be aware that most apps lack basic security […]

June 23, 2022

Stolen Check – ID Theft

Brian Thompson Identity Theft

Here is a story of a stolen check – ID Theft, how they found out about it, and what they did. Sally and her husband were living in student housing in Chicago. She was supporting both of them at the time when a personal check was stolen. Because they were living in an apartment run by the university, all rent payments had to come out of her husband’s bank account. This led to a complicated financial situation. At the time money transfers were more complicated so Sally would have to write her husband a check through the bank and have it sent to them by mail. But, this time the check included rent and a portion of their tax return and it never got to them. How Sally Found Out Sally followed up with the bank to cancel her check. The bank indicated that they couldn’t do it because it […]

June 15, 2022

What is Employee Criminal Identity Theft?

Brian Thompson Uncategorized

All identity theft is illegal, YES, but what do they mean when they say Employee Criminal identity theft? Unfortunately, it is not just some fictional story played out in the movie “Identity Thief”. If you have not seen this movie, I highly recommend it. Jason Bateman has his identity stolen by Melissa McCarthy and as you can imagine the comedic duo battle throughout the movie…very funny! What is employee criminal identity theft? Employee Criminal identity Theft typically occurs when an identity thief gives an employee’s name or personal information during an arrest or investigation. They may use a stolen driver’s license or other identification in the employee’s name or simply use the name and information of a friend or relative without showing any identification. The employee’s data is then added to the state’s criminal database and potentially the national database. Most victims don’t even know about it until much later […]

June 8, 2022

My Story as a Victim of Identity Theft

Brian Thompson Identity Theft

I had the pleasure of speaking with our partners at Tzedakah House on their podcast, Benefits & Beyond. In this podcast, I chat with Luke about identity theft protection and the services defend-id provides. I share my story as a victim of identity theft and the first-hand effects it can have on a person both emotionally, financially, and at the office. Topics Luke and I cover: What services does defend-ID offer? (credit checks, recovery, etc.) How did you get started doing this? (backstory) What kinds of plans are available? (gold vs. platinum) How easy is ID theft to offer to employees? (size, participation, funding, etc.) Can folks purchase coverage individually, too? Listen here Additional articles: Realities of Identity Theft What is Dark Web Monitoring? Fully-Managed Recovery for Identity Theft What Do Identity Theft Protection Services Really Do? 14 features of Identity Theft Protection Monitoring and the Most Important Feature! Learn more […]

Do not let your guard down. Always be cautious in revealing information about yourself or your employer. "Stop, look and think” about emails, texts, and phone calls. Slow down, be aware, be safe, and don't be the weak link to identity theft.

June 1, 2022

DON’T BE THE WEAK LINK

Brian Thompson Uncategorized

Do not let your guard down. Always be cautious in revealing information about yourself or your employer. “Stop, look and think” about emails, texts, and phone calls. Slow down, be aware, be safe, and don’t be the weak link to identity theft. Nearly eight years ago I wrote a December 2014 article for the Arizona Republic titled Read the fine print when buying ID-theft protection services. The premise of my article was that the core product offered to most identity theft protection service providers is credit bureau monitoring and that credit bureau monitoring offers a false sense of security. Credit bureau monitoring cannot monitor non-financial identity theft events. Events like: taxpayer ID theft and refund fraud, unemployment ID theft, benefits fraud, medical ID theft and fraud, or credential (e.g. driver’s license and passport) ID theft and fraud. The identity theft protection community is largely reputable and trustworthy. It is not uncommon, […]