Identity theft is a crime in which an impostor uses the name, social security number, and/or other identifying information of a victim to open credit accounts, use existing credit accounts, or otherwise acquire financial benefits using the victim's identity. Identity theft is on the rise affecting almost 10 million victims in 2008 (22% increase from 2007) 71% of fraud happens within a week of stealing a victim's personal data There are at least seven types of fraud that you can be a victim of Identity theft is always evolving Identity thieves gain access to your bank accounts and steal your money Identity thieves create fraudulent accounts using your personal information Identity thieves destroy your FICO scores and credit Because your credit is ruined, it affects your ability to get employed since employers do backgrounds Identity theft robs your peace of mind Identity theft is taxing process taking an average of 5,480 hours to clear your name Identity theft is a very costly crime to recover from On average, victims lose between $851 and $1,378 out-of-pocket trying to resolve 47% of victims encounter problems qualifying for a new loan (ITRC Aftermath Study, 2004) 70% of victims have difficulty removing negative information that resulted from identity theft from their credit reports (ITRC Aftermath Study, 2004) Dollar amount lost per household averaged $1,620 (U.S. DOJ, 2005)

Other Forms of Identity Theft Corporate or internal identity theft is also a growing problem. Because these companies already have our information and no internal controls to prevent accessibility, we're unfortunately going to be seeing more bad news like this: For Release: January 20, 2010 "Mortgage Broker Who Dumped Consumer Records Settles FTC Charges" A mortgage broker who discarded consumers’ personal financial records in a publicly- accessible dumpster paid a $35,000 civil penalty to settle Federal Trade Commission charges. This breach of security is unnecceptable! MasqMe's Identity Masquerade prevents this from occurring by keeping your personal information private and secure.

How Does Identity Theft Occur?
From the list below, you will see that identity theft is an ever-evolving crime. Criminals are always finding new ways to breach our lives. Review the list carefully and often.

1. Stealing mail or rummaging through trash cans looking for straight cut, or unshredded personal documents like credit card receipts and bank statements. This activity is commonly known as dumpster-diving.
2. Retrieving information from redundant equipment, like computer servers that have been disposed of carelessly, e.g. at public dump sites, given away without proper sanitizing etc.
3. Steal your purse, or wallet.
4. Gain access to vital documents such as birth/death certificates, driver's license or Social Security card
5. Eavesdropping on public and phone conversations.
6. Trick victims into giving information over the telephone, or by e-mail.
7. Buy the information either on the Internet, or from someone who may have stolen it.
8. Steal the information from a completed loan, or credit application from files at a hospital, bank, school, or business the victim dealt with.
9. Researching about the victim in government registers, internet search engines, or public records search services.
10. Get it from the victim's computer, especially one that lacks firewalls.
11. Stealing payment or identification cards, either by pickpocketing or surreptitiously by skimming through a compromised card reader.
12. Remotely reading information from an RFID chip on a smart card, RFID-enabled credit card, or passport.
13. Stealing personal information from computers and computer databases (Trojan horses, hacking and Zero day attacks).
14. Impersonating a trusted company/institution/organization in an electronic communication to promote revealing of personal information (phishing).
15. Data breach that results in the public (i.e. posted on the internet) or easily-obtainable (i.e. printed on a mailing label) display of sensitive information such as a Social Security number or credit card number.
16. Advertising bogus job offers (either full-time or work from home based) to which the victims will reply with their full name, address, curriculum vitae, telephone numbers, and banking details.
17. Obtaining castings of fingers for falsifying fingerprint identification.
18. Obtain it from a friend, relative, or someone who works with the victim and has access to the victim's information.
19. Browsing social network (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter etc) sites, online for personal details that have been posted by users.
20. Stealing records or information while they're on the job.
21. Infiltration of organizations that store large amounts of personal information.
22. Bribing an employee who has access to these records.
23. Hacking these records.
24. Conning information out of employees.
25. Use skimming devices designed to get information from the magnetic strip on credit cards.
26. Changing your address thereby diverting billing statements to another location to either get current legitimate account info or to delay discovery of fraudulent accounts.
27. Using false pretenses to trick a business (usually through a customer service representative) into disclosing customer information (pretexting).
28. Use of 'contactless' credit card skimming technology to acquire data recorded on special RFID enabled cards.
29. Stealing checks to acquire banking information, including account numbers and bank routing numbers.
http://www.examiner.com/x-26501-Madison-Headlines-Examiner~y2009m12d22-45-million-Wisconsin-employee-fraud-case-should-sound-business-alert

How does MasqMe Protect Me?
MasqMe protects your identity in ways that the other service providers don't. Using proprietary technologies and strict security policies, MasqMe provides a suite of comprehensive services designed to prevent identity theft beyond fraud alerts. There are many other opportunities to prevent identity theft, such as during a credit check for a car, apartment, jewelry, or home loan. We view this as an insecure process, exposing your Social Security unnecessarily. With MasqMe, that's a process of the past.

Another area in which we're vulnerable is with health records. Identity theft is thriving in the healthcare industry. To prevent it, MasqMe provides a secure storage and sharing system mechanism so you control who, when and how your personal health record (PHR) is managed.

MasqMe offers many more services not listed here. MasqMe protects your identity using a complete array of services designed to compliment each other. The idea is to keep your identity private. That's what MasqMe does best. We encourage you to compare our services with the rest. You won't find a more passionate ally in the fight to prevent identity theft.

Please see our complete list of services and let us know if you have any questions. We welcome your questions. Please email us.

MasqMe's complete consumer security suite is only $14.95 per month for a personal account and $24.95 per month for a joint account.

How do I take back control of my identity?