After Ian Katz' story appeared I checked back to see the comments and thought you would also be interested whether "you" are the general public, police, legislative branch, land registry, or other.
CommentsBUD:Unfortunately this sounds like the cop investigating my house break in."Who cares what you lost, you have insurance". Or Who care about the cost of healthcare, you have insurance. When my credit card number was hijacked, the cops said "Who cares, you didn't lose anything" meaning the credit card company would pay for the charges. It's the perfect crime, no punishment.
RATBOY:No big surprise why Ian Katz is skeptical of any report stating ID Theft is on the decline (since you personally have been a victim). How about sticking to some journalistic integrity and reporting just the facts for once, Ian. If you want to put in your 2 cents, write an editorial, not a news story.
THE DETECTIVE:This article ignores the link between identity theft and crystal meth junkies. There are entire networks of meth addicts who share identity theft information and tactics. This is how they support their habits. Clean up the crystal meth problem, and identity theft will decrease by 50%.
YEAH RIGHT:I was a victim and the police wouldn't even take a report. Said they had thousands upon thousands and that they couldn't even begin cover the case loads. So to use the police reports as a barometer of how many identity thefts there are is **** poor reporting.
JOSEPH LEFF:Identity theft could - could - affect one's credit score. It also could be used by illegal aliens, including terrorists. It's potentially a lot more dangerous than news stories usually say.
JEFF ANDERSON: Do your research. The studies were funded by the bank card companies hoping to allay fears of consumers. Not so says the FTC who says complaints for ID Theft have risen.
JOE FROM TULSA:If you saw a study taht said if you drank at least 5 cups of Brazilian Fresh ground coffee per day it would cure any know disease and prevent any other disease, cure infurtility, ect, would you beleive it less if the study was paid for by the Association of Brazilian Coffee Growers ???
Of Course !!!
Now this study is trying to make you worry less and use your credit cards more and make more internet transactions so they can earn more fees.
Saying who sponsored or funded the study tells it all "The small community of ID privacy advocates is especially critical of the Javelin study. Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C., points out that the report was sponsored by Visa, Wells Fargo and electronic billing company CheckFree, all of which "have an interest in avoiding further regulation."
FRANK:This is a whole lot of Bull.
There is a lot of people who the government knows that has has their information stolen in the last few years when companies have been hacked into or people walking around with private data on laptops.
The problem is that unless you live in the state of California, any company who has had their data stolen is not required to notify you.
I had my data stolen from 2 break-ins last year, I have a fraud alert on my SS number. Neighter time did the company notify me of this. I requested both companies DELETE my information from their servers and they declined to do so and threw some BS law on my face.
The government can not do anything about identity theft because it will cost the government money. The government would love to have every men, women and child in dept up to their ears, and if they make it harder for people to get credit it will reduce the amount of "compulsive buyers"
PNG:Identify theft is as easy as having someone give your name to BSO in an arrest. It happened to me in minutes...(this person had to show no id, gave no social, no birthdate, nothing, to suddenly become "me" in an arrest) and then I find out while I'm at home 7 months pregnant, that I'm actually "in jail". When I found out I asked BSO to fingerprint the person in jail because it "wasn't me" and they told me it doesn't make any difference because they got time served.
8 years later I still have to carry double identity to prove who I am because people who take identity for a living don't give a **** How many places have you gotten gas where you don't even need a pin or a even a zip code. Swipe a card....get gas.
Say a name...you become them.
In the computer age we should have some better ID protection than this street crime ease.
GAMEBOY:Do you think the cops really care. Evidently not.
I hope you got a lawyer.
DAN:Identity thieves would love the public to lower their guard. Increased awareness and legislative efforts have made life a little more difficult for the thief. We still have a long way to go.
People who feel that the threat of ID theft is over hyped should talk to a victim who has spent months and years disputing false credit and criminal charges.
Some form of ID theft has always been with us -- only the techniques and consequences change. Our reaction to any threat should be balanced. We shouldn't retreat to a constant paranoid state of thinking everyone is trying to steal our identity. We also can't be naive; our identities are valuable.
Lastly,
JOANNA offers:
Identity theft is not going away. People need to start taking it serious. It is not just about you and how careful you are it is about technology and humon error and theives. Your information is every where. Your doctors office, hospital,bank local department stores and floating around in cyber space. You are at risk no matter what you do. I have the one product on the market that not only monitors you credit but will restore you identiy if it is stolen.
I didn't offer Joanna's email address (as she did in her post) because I hate to see people pay for something they can get for free.
If you're concerned about your records being posted online and the potential for ID Theft, send a note to:
FindMyID@mindspring.com
We still check records free of charge or if you prefer, offer instructions on how you can do it, yourself.
www.FindMyID.com
