So far this year, OHP has investigated 248 cases, compared to 114 by this time last year. The cases involve fraudulent identification discovered by officers during traffic stops, or phony paperwork turned in to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles by people seeking driver’s licenses, state identification cards or vehicle registrations.

Officers say they believe the attempt at creating bogus documentation is part of what has become a $10 million identity theft business for organized crime. They also say some of the fraud may be the work of criminals trying to avoid capture by using stolen identities.

Identity thieves often use stolen personal information to apply for payday loans and jobs, as well as obtain credit cards and lines of credit. But they also can and do commit crime – and the victim winds up with the criminal record.

But you can be proactive about protecting your personal information. With LifeLock Identity Alert™ system, you get much broader protection, greater control and early notification of both credit and non-credit related threats. LifeLock will monitor to be sure that your information isn’t traded or sold, as well.

One of the most common ways that thieves get your personal information is by raiding your mailbox for pre-approved credit offers. LifeLock will make sure your name is removed from offer mailing lists, to help reduce the risk of someone getting your mail and stealing your personal information.

Another common scam is to submit address changes, with the criminal often having your mail forwarded to his address. He can then easily get his hands on your most sensitive information.

LifeLock’s TrueAddress™ service, will proactively detect any new address information in address databases nationwide. If any fraudulent changes are found, you’ll be notified immediately, and you can take action to restore accurate address information.

Call LifeLock today.

Receive 30 days free and get a 10 percent discount on enrollment with the LifeLock Promo Code “Defense.”

But here’s a new thing they have to be concerned about: identity theft.

A new identity theft scam has been uncovered in Mississippi that targeted diabetics. Those with the disease received phone calls from people claiming to be from the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi and the American Diabetes Association. Callers requested information such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth and credit card numbers.

Both organizations received complaints about the calls, and reported them to the Consumer Protection Division of the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office. Mississippi is the only state thus far to report this particular scam, but it is expected to spread into other states as well.

Representatives from both the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi and the American Diabetes Foundation say the organizations will not initiate a phone call or send an e-mail to diabetics asking them to provide or confirm sensitive information. Before responding to any request for information, be sure to contact the organization directly to verify the request.

Your personal information is important – that goes without saying. That’s why identity thieves are trying so hard to find ways to steal it. In the wrong hands, your personal information can ruin your credit, and your life.
LifeLock can help you be proactive by monitoring for any fraudulent activity.

If any such activity is found, you’ll be alerted immediately, and you can take evasive action before the problem erupts.

LifeLock can protect you and your family for only $10 a month for the basic services, and $15 for extended services, which will monitor for data breaches, watch out for your personal information being used to attain a payday loan, and check for unauthorized use in public, alias and court records, as well as sex offender registries.

With LifeLock, you can rest assured that you’re safe.

Receive 30 days free and get a 10 percent discount on enrollment with the LifeLock Promo Code “Defense.”

The good news is that there’s another thing you can be sure of: LifeLock’s identity theft protection.
LifeLock helps you become proactive when it comes to protecting your most sensitive personal information. By becoming a LifeLock customer, you’ll benefit from LifeLock Identity Alert™ System, which will search for activity and notify you if your information is used to apply for credit or services. You’ll also be notified if your information is being sold or traded online, thanks to LifeLock’s eRecon™ service, which searches thousands of criminal Web sites for information such as your Social Security and credit card numbers.

In addition, WalletLock™ will help you replace the contents of a lost or stolen wallet, and a LifeLock specialist will help you cancel stolen credit cards as well.

In today’s depressed economy, so many are stretching their budgets as tightly as possible to make ends meet. Unfortunately, crooks are strapped for cash also, and they’ve been stepping up their efforts to use stolen identities to obtain credit cards, cell phones, retail credit cards, mortgage loans, auto loans and payday loans.

But LifeLock can help by notifying you immediately if your information is used fraudulently. If your information is used by a thief, LifeLock will work with you to restore your good name.

One of the most important ways LifeLock serves its customers is through its 24-hour customer service. No matter what time of day you discover there’s a problem, you can speak with a LifeLock member service representative. Hearing a friendly, calm voice is invaluable when you feel vulnerable and violated, as identity theft victims are sure to feel.

Sign up for LifeLock’s protection today – and know they’re ready to help you, whenever you need them.

Yet it often takes several weeks or even months for the victim to discover the crime. It most often happens when the victim is turned down for a loan or credit card, despite the good credit he or she has built.

What can a person do to prevent this? And how does this type of theft happen so easily?

One of the easiest ways thieves obtain information is through using a change of address. By diverting a person’s mail to any other address, the thief then has access to all sorts of personal information, including credit card and bank account numbers. This information can be used to open new accounts or drain existing ones.

Thieves also use the information to create new identities to connect new utility services, gain employment, or buy or rent a home. This can go undetected for years, because the victim never receives any kind of bill notification.

But LifeLock can help. Identity SDS™ provides complete protection service by searching public records of all addresses associated with your name or other personal information. LifeLock can go back as far as 25 years, so that you can be sure every address is valid.

Identity SDS™ works with LifeLock’s TrueAddress™, which monitors national databases in search of address changes from your current address. If any such activity is found, you will be notified immediately so that you can take corrective action.

LifeLock offers these services as part of a suite of services in its LifeLock Command Center, which includes eRecon™, which searches the Web for an illegal selling or trading of your information.

And this all comes with a $1 Million Total Service Guarantee, which means that if you ever fall victim to identity theft as a LifeLock customer, LifeLock will spend up to $1,000,000 to make things right.

Now that’s a headline.

I’ve been a LifeLock member for just over two years, and have always been happy with their service. But I recently decided to add LifeLock Command Center™–their new tier of ID theft services—to my membership. I know enough about ID theft to know that no one is ever completely protected, but I felt pretty safe even before the upgrade.

Since upgrading I feel like I’m as well protected from ID theft as it’s possible to be. I’m still covered by LifeLock’s original eRecon™, WalletLock™ and TrueAddress™. And LifeLock submitted the requests so I actually get my annual credit report and I don’t receive pre-approved credit offers in the mail anymore—things I should have been doing for myself but never did.

LifeLock Command Center™ drills a little deeper, though. With the new services, LifeLock proactively mines for my personal and financial information, to make sure all is as it should be, and no one but me is using it.

What I find most assuring about the new Command Center™ services, though, is that I get the reports from all their searches. In fact, I got all the reports within 48 hours of enrolling.

How LifeLock Command Center™ works

Public records databases are scoured for any evidence of criminal ID theft—that is, using another person’s identity when arrested. The continually check my county’s court records and those at the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Corrections and administrative courts. As damaging as any type of ID theft can be, when you know some of the firsthand stories about how horrific the aftermath of criminal ID theft can be, this service is a big relief.

They also check all the sex offender registries. First, to make sure none of my information shows up there; apparently it’s common for sex offenders to use bogus addresses when they have to register. Secondly, LifeLock emails me a list of all the sex offenders registered in my zip code. (If you’ve never seen one of these reports, they’re real eye-openers. Even a friend of mine who lives in a very exclusive neighborhood found there are two sex offenders living within blocks of his home.)

Command Center™ monitors P2P networks. These are the links from one computer to another established with file sharing applications like LimeWire that are commonly used for music downloads and shared work

LifeLock’s eRecon™ has always checked more than 10,000 websites for bits of my identity information, e.g. my Social Security number, address, birth date, etc. They also looked for any pieces of my financial information, e.g. bank account or credit card numbers or PINS. With LifeLock Command Center™ I get the reports.

Command Center™ also provided me with a report of every address I’ve lived at for the last 25 years. Fortunately I recognized every address on the report.

Check out LifeLock Command Center™ for yourself. If you decide to enroll, use the promotion code DEFENSE for the best deal.