I’m going to tell you something, but you might not even believe me.
I sat down to type up this week’s blog, covering the subject of identity theft and how consumers can protect themselves, and heard my phone ping.
I picked it up and saw that I got a text message “_____? is this still your number?” It came in from a number only identified as 62178 (not a full phone number), which I found odd.
My Spidey Sense started going off – this was probably a hacker or ID thief trying to confirm my phone number, get my full name, or get some other information they could use to access my accounts.
And that’s just how prevalent ID theft is right now – I sit down to write a blog about it, and I’m hit with a text from a scammer literally at the same time.
Chances are, you may have been hit by an illicit attempt to steal your identity or hack your accounts, too. Or know someone who was. Maybe they were even successful.
The latest data backs up our anecdotal evidence.
For instance, here are some alarming stats from the Federal Trade Commission’s “Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book:
Last year, the most common cause of consumer complaints to the FTC were:
- Identity theft
- Imposter scams (a form of fraud where someone tries to assume your identity and take control of your finances or credit)
- Complaints from the credit bureaus or consumers whose credit was stolen or otherwise was the victim of financial fraud
- Cyber criminals and hackers are also getting far more sophisticated. Ransomware and government benefits hacks are two of the leading forms of financial fraud that have absolutely skyrocketed over the last two years.
- Furthermore, it’s reported that 15 million Americans are victims of hacks, scams, ID theft or financial fraud every single year.
- That equals 4.5% of the U.S. population every single year, for an average loss of $3,500.
- Add that up over the last five years cumulatively and you start to see the magnitude of the problem. It’s reported that 33% of all U.S. adults have experienced identity theft.
- And someone new becomes the victim of identity theft or financial fraud every 14 seconds!
I can go on and on, but I need to hurry up and finish this blog so I can make sure my credit and accounts haven’t been compromised.
Thankfully, there’s a powerful solution to shield you from all forms of unscrupulous ID hacking and theft: IdentityIQ.
IdentityIQ is THE best credit monitoring and ID theft protection service that we’ve come across – and that’s saying something since we’re in the industry and deal with credit issues all day long.
We trust them to protect our clients and have never been disappointed.
So, how does IdentityIQ protect you?
- Comprehensive credit monitoring,
- Including DAILY monitoring and alerts with one credit bureau,
- Automatic searches on national and international wanted and criminal activity lists,
- $25,000 of identity theft insurance,
- Monthly Experian, Equifax and TransUnion Reports & Scores,
As IdentityIQ explains on their website, “Suspicious changes in your credit report are one of the first indications that your information may have been compromised. If you feel something has gone wrong, one of the first steps we recommend is to take a look at your credit report and verify all of your information.
We believe checking your report regularly is so important that we offer you 12 reports per year (on select plans), which is something our competition does not.”
Ready to start protecting you and you family’s credit and finances?
Since you’re a friend to Blue Water Credit, you can get started with a trial run of seven days for just $1!
Just follow this link for more information and big discounts.
The bad guys are hard at work ‘round the clock trying to hack your accounts, use your credit, and steal your identity…shouldn’t you have an ally who’s working just as hard to protect you?
Get started today and please let us know what you think!
(Ok, now I have to go check in with my own IdentityIQ to make sure everything’s safe with my own credit and identity!)
