Where do you turn after you find out your social security number has been stolen?

As a member of LifeLock since 2012 at about $89/yr, I was not concerned about my social security number being stolen because they would tell me that it was being used or stolen.  But when I thought about it, it was sort of like a smoke alarm.  It tells me there is smoke, but I have to do something to figure out where the smoke is coming from, and then if there really is a fire, I have to put it out or call the fire department to come and put it out, then call the insurance co to report a claim, then hire a contractor to repair the damage done.  I asked LifeLock if their service would take care of fixing my identity once it has been compromised, and the answer was surprisingly no.

After hearing too many stories now related to credit repair, and learning of the the hours of calls and copies of records and the general damage that can be done to your reputation from a breach of secure data, I decided to check out costs on something called fraud restoration services.  There is a company, Kroll Fraud Solutions Group working through LegalShield, that specializes in actually restoring a person's identity with law enforcement, federal trade commission, social security administration, IRS, motor vehicle administration/DMVs around the country, creditors and the reporting bureaus, medical insurance companies and others.  They fix everything about a person's compromised identity after a breach occurs with an insurance policy that includes a power of attorney upon discovering a breach so they can represent you and fix what's been damaged for a low price of around $15/mo. The plan is called Identity Theft Shield which is an insurance policy that saves people close to 600 hours.

The fact that we rely on our social security number, address, phone number and drivers license number for identification is scary.  It is easy enough to compromise that data and assume someone's identity by either creating or obtaining a fake driver's license (someone else's picture, on your name and license number and use that when pulled over by cops or involved in more serious crimes).  If not sure about how easy it is, ask any 16 year old in this country if they know someone who can get them or make a fake ID for enough money.  In most states, driver's licenses or occupational licenses are obtained through published procedures and can be compromised by simply figuring out how to defeat the system's process. 

We rely on the security of our private data, and if it is breached, find we have a lot of hoops to jump through to fix it.  There are numerous news stories and ample crime data that shows identity theft crime is far more prevalent and lucrative for organized criminals to trade in identity theft then it is to engage in the actual trafficking of illegal drugs.  This crime has been growing at the fastest pace for the last 10 years or more, and most Americans are oblivious to the risk to their children's social security number, driver's license number or their own data until they are faced with evidence of a data breach and are then looking at about 600 hours of time on the phone, emails, regular mail, and filing reports and following up on those filings to fix the issue.

I was very pleased with the peace of mind that came with the Identity Theft Shield which covers my whole family including spouse, minors and unmarried children up to age 26 not living at home if they are enrolled in school full time, or up to age 26 unmarried if they are still living at home for the same $15.  LifeLock is $89/yr per person or social security number.  For the peace of mind that comes with this insurance, I feel better about sharing it with people.  You can learn more at www.restoregoodcredit.org by completing the quiz questions related to identity theft and be taken to more information to learn more about it and sign up.  Or just click here to learn more.

Share your stories and win $100

Share your credit related stories in a collection of short stories we are publishing on the realities of managing credit, income, and assets in the US.  Selected stories will be published and the authors paid $100 via Paypal by the publishing arm of Raj Dwivedi Consulting partnered with CreateSpace/Amazon. The wildest stories have the best chance of being published.  We are looking for the realities of employment opportunities; life after bankruptcy, collections, judgments, reposessions; creditors calling your place of employment to attempt to collect on debts.  We will publish the collection of short stories with permission and payment authorization obtained. 
Please submit your story in Word or PDF format by clicking here.

Converting Bank Turn Down Deals into Good Cash Deals The Old Fashioned Way

When working for a year as an in-home sales consultant in the interior remodeling industry in the Mid Atlantic region for a large bathroom remodeling company, I found that a large percentage of prospective customers (disproportionate to the qty of leads assigned by this particular company) were in dire need of bathroom remodeling solutions and extremely short on the ability to come up with funds necessary to complete the work needed.

I found that many elderly veterans, single income households, medically challenged individuals were particularly vulnerable, and my heart went out to them to try to find a solution for them.  In most cases an acrylic wall and tub type solution which is covering up an older bathtub and surrounding tile wall with custom formed acrylic system made financial sense as it seems like the cheapest viable solution between $4500 to $6500 depending on design, colors or options that a customer chose.  Companies like this one I  worked for typically collect 1/3 up front with each order, or 1/10th up front if the customer was credit worthy with a 700 FICO score or higher.  Many companies in the industry were relying on financial companies like GE Consumer Bank to pick up the financing of deals, or used their own unique financial facility solution providers with specialists providing access to underwriting tools to assess an acceptable level of risk to accept financing deals.  GE pulled out of this business, leaving consumers who were in the most need vulnerable to increasing bank turn downs or BTDs as they are known in the industry.

I found that many BTD deals (almost 70%) could be converted to good deals with a little coaching and support from a nonprofit like United Credit Education Services or UCES (www.united-credit.org) which offered guaranteed satisfaction and a high success rates in helping improve consumer credit scores to become within an acceptable range for most remodeling firms.  Within 6 to 12 months, many vulnerable customers who were given an option to be put on a layaway type program could also improve their credit profile scores to the point of qualifying for credit terms.  My advice after consumers were "educated" to the point that they were able to budget and save for the needed projects, was to avoid the financing traps of these remodel terms with interest rates as high as 26% in come cases.  When people prioritized their savings into a budget plan, they were able to convert to other options paid for almost entirely as cash deals, or phase in deals, where they were able to start with just a portion of a project rather than fund the entire project.

This strategy helps many customers accomplish their goals, and I would highly recommend the services of UCES through www.restoregoodcredit.org as a channel to help people.  Not only does an affordable line of credit become possible with a 730+ FICO score for either the homeowner or the small business owner, but the homeowner's life is changed for the better with the education and experience that comes from following the guidance offered by UCES on the path toward credit repair and restoration.

There are surprises when it comes to some credit profiles.  Often inaccurate, obsolete and erroneous derogatory information finds its way onto 80% of credit reports, and it is up to the consumer to challenge and request that those derogatory items be removed.  

Get the startup funding you need to turn good business ideas into actions without maxing out personal credit cards, home equity or mom, dad, grandma or grandpa

Win $500 when you help someone restore their credit profile

www.restoregoodcredit.orgKnow Anyone Who Needs To Restore Good Credit? Tell us about them.

 

Credit Unions Help America tell your representatives to support CUNA

If you've had enough of banks telling you no when you need a loan and only selling you on gimmicky lines of credit or factoring lines instead of low interest loans, take action with CUNA

Debt Management Solutions To Eliminate Credit Card Interest and Budgeting

Click this link to see a demo of  Debt Zero in action!

The best debt management solution available solves the problem of budgeting and eliminating high interest rate credit cards and getting your credit score to rapidly increase with this great software tool.  This software called Debt Zero is available exclusively to FES Protection Plan members and acts like a financial GPS.  Input your cash inflows and outflows, and when an emergency comes up like the transmission or refrigerator needs repair, and you can't stick to your monthly budget, as planned, debt zero will automatically recalculate the necessary payment to make to keep on track to meet your goals of saving, funding investment accounts and paying off debts in half the time or paying off all debts to zero without having to find new sources of money or income.  There is simply no better solution available in the United States.  When you combine this service with the free online web bill pay and escrow account that you fund and manage with your Protection Plan Black MasterCard Prepaid Debit Card that you use exclusively to fund other accounts in conjunction with this software, you will never go back to paying interest on debts and will quickly go to earning interest on savings.  Our members are the types of Americans who earn interest rather than pay interest.  Join us at www.restoregoodcredit.org.

Enroll for Debt Zero as part of the Protection Plan at www.restoregoodcredit.org.