Think all of us constantly hear about ways to prevent identity theft all around us, its in the news, on billboards and in our political figures speeches. There is even a commercial where the founder Todd Davis of LifeLock drives around various cities with a billboard advertising his social security number. This was a powerful marketing message that soon will score LifeLock a million subscribers. Now I don’t recommend that you plaster your name and social security number all over your car and drive around your city I do believe you should be taking steps to prevent identity theft.
If our beloved US government would have taken the time to really think about using only one number to track us across all agencies most of this wouldn’t be a major issue. Now even our own government seems a bit confused, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says it’s not wise for American citizens to carry their social security number with them in their wallets/purses. Then you have Medicare and the Defense Department contradicting this sound advice, they go one step farther and issue you a card with your social security number on there. They suggest to people that you only carry the card when you think your going to need it, yeah right with our busy lives that little card will find its way into a convenient place. Want to guess where?
Ok then get this The FTC strongly recommends that you not write your SSN number on a check because this is one way a ID thief can get a hold of it. However the IRS asks taxpayers to write their SSN on the check they are sending in to may payment. A good article I read about the identity theft topic on TechDirt.com summed it up well:
So will the FTC now go after Medicare, the Defense Department and the IRS for helping to cause identity theft? Somehow I doubt it.
What can you do to protect yourself? For starters a good dose of common sense will help, think about how you give out your SSN number and other personal data. Challenge those individuals/agencies that request it, treat it like a credit card number where you know you have a huge credit line. Another step is to sign up for a service like LifeLock Identity Theft Prevention , they are offering, with a 1 million dollar guarantee, I bet you would sleep a bit easier at night.
