Preventing Identity Theft For Dummies

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 206 pages
• Published by: For Dummies July 30, 2004
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0764573365
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0764573361
• Book Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Weighs: 10.4 ounces

Product Description

• Twenty-seven million Americans have been victims of identity theft in the last five years and the total cost of identity theft approaches $48 billion per year (total costs to businesses are $43 billion and the direct cost to consumers is $5 billion)
• These staggering statistics have prompted security consultant Michael Arata to provide readers with the resources they need to guard themselves against identity theft
• In this valuable book, Arata offers easy-to-follow, straightforward advice on understanding identity theft, minimizing risk, maintaining vigilance, choosing who to share personal information with, selecting hard-to-guess PINs, determining victimization, reviewing a credit report, charting a course of action, resolving credit problems, reclaiming good credit, and much more
• Explains how to recover successfully if identity theft does occur
• Author Michael Arata, CISSP, CPP, CFE, ACLM, is a veteran of the security industry with more than fifteen years of experience

Download Description
* Twenty-seven million Americans have been victims of identity theft in the last five years and the total cost of identity theft approaches $48 billion per year (total costs to businesses are $43 billion and the direct cost to consumers is $5 billion)
* These staggering statistics have prompted security consultant Michael Arata to provide readers with the resources they need to guard themselves against identity theft
* In this valuable book, Arata offers easy-to-follow, straightforward advice on understanding identity theft, minimizing risk, maintaining vigilance, choosing who to share personal information with, selecting hard-to-guess PINs, determining victimization, reviewing a credit report, charting a course of action, resolving credit problems, reclaiming good credit, and much more
* Explains how to recover successfully if identity theft does occur
* Author Michael Arata, CISSP, CPP, CFE, ACLM, is a veteran of the security industry with more than fifteen years of experience

Reader Reviews
There's an old joke about two campers who hear a menacing bear in the woods. One camper asks for the other's sneakers. "You can't outrun a bear", he is told. The first camper responds, "I just need to outrun you". This book will give you sneakers. It will make you a harder target for those people who want your good name and money, because having read the book, the author's recommendations will henceforth seem just good common sense. One day I was walking my dog and bent over to pick up a torn copy of my wife's brokerage statement that had blown half a block from our trash barrel. Get a shredder! Some companies may even allow employees to add their own documents to their secure disposal service bins for sensitive data marked for destruction. Mail that has our names, birthdates, social security numbers, account numbers, etc. can be used by others with fraudulent intent to open accounts for their benefit. Many of us have seen our credit reports, but did you know that a combined report from the three major credit agencies is available and why it might be important to see this side-by-side comparison? Bottom line: If you are a victim of identity theft this book will give you practical advice on who to contact and what forms to fill-out. The information in this book is important and it is presented in a straightforward, highly-readable format. (Editorial note: Chapter 15's "Ten Common Scams..." lists the "Nigerian letter", but neither it nor its more recent email mutations are discussed in what follows.)