Friday, February 20, 2009

Addicted to Phone Sex or Identity Theft?


in this day and age, credit cards are over abundant, many college students at least have one or more in their wallet. However, with identity theft rising higher than Michael Phelps after hitting the bong, our security is at risk. Some of these bills even make it back to our beloved parents who are still in the process of supporting us, at least financially. Wouldn’t it be even better if your parents got the bill for 1,000 dollars for hot dirty phone sex hotlines. Well that was the case for Arlene Hald, an 86 year old woman who received a bill in the mail addressed to her dead husband of 20 years.

Yes, thats correct, it must of been a dirty old man, or the victim of identity theft. In an article found off of CNN, it is reported that this poor widow woman received a bill in the mail for 1,000 dollars for a sex hotline in the name of her DEAD husband of 20 years. However, as funny as it would be, he was not a dirty old man addicted to phone sex, his dead name was merely used for identity theft.

Pretty crazy that even in todays high tech world, people can steal your identity even if you are dead! I was a little astonished at reading this article, and that is why I must stress the importance of keeping your identity concealed. The craziest thing about this was that they never even had a credit card, yet his identity was still stolen. Most cases of identity theft occur with credit card holders, however, this wasn’t even the case. This just raises the red flag higher, maybe even with some flashing dee-dee-dee lights on it when it comes to being more protective with our identity.

Therefore, I must stress how important it is to keep your identity concealed. This can be done in many ways, even by simply shredding confidential documents. Most people just throw things away figuring that oh it will just end up in a landfill. However, your security is not guaranteed. All it takes is a crazy old bum to find some papers with your social security number and some bank account numbers and he is happy. He would be applying for a credit card online faster than he would beat a seagull for a piece of bread. Oh thats when the trouble begins, when the important documents come into possession of the wrong hands.

One may ask well how can this be solved. Simply said, it can be taken care of with a few simple steps. Shredding important documents and making sure that confidential papers are either destroyed or properly filed in an inaccessible place can help to alleviate the problem. Merely throwing items with confidential information in the waste basket is not the answer. Take the pro active step to conceal your identity and shred or properly dispose of papers. Down the road it will help greatly, that way people don’t see you as a crazy old person addicted to phone sex, even though it was a crazy person stealing your identity.

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