ID theft hits a little too close to home

Posted by Joe on December 18th, 2007

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We have been covering identity theft protection services for months here at NextAdvisor so I was well aware that it was the fastest growing crime in the United States with well over 10 million Americans falling victim each year. That didn't make it any less surprising when my wife realized over the weekend that she had been the victim of credit card fraud – the largest segment of identity theft related crimes according to the FTC.

We regularly review our credit card statements for any suspicious activity. So, thankfully, she identified the several hundred dollars in false charges immediately and was able to report them to our credit card company before any additional charges or more serious identity theft could be perpetrated.

Needless to say, the first thing that she did after she had notified the credit card company was sign up for an identity theft protection service. She selected LifeLock because she liked the idea of their proactive "preventative" services as well as the simple sign up process.

We already strongly encourage our readers to use an identity theft protection service and even more so now that my family has been victimized. Our editors have reviewed several of the leading identity theft protection services. Check out our comparison and choose the program that is right for you.

• Reader Question: How can LifeLock help me if I have already been a victim of identity theft?
• Reader Question: Will my LifeLock or Equifax account also cover my spouse?
• Reader Question: What should I do if I think I have been a victim of identity theft?
• Data Breach Alert: 100 million possible victims in what may be the largest data breach ever
• LifeLock selected as preferred identity theft prevention service for Illinois State Bank