A recent article in the November 2006 issues of Reader's Digest reported that "fraud is estimated to account for as much as ten percent of all health care costs … including medical identity theft." "An insurance card is like a Visa card with a $1 million spending limit," says Byron Hollis, national anti-fraud director of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. The most frightening part of this article is the fact that organized crime rings are realizing how lucrative identity theft is and are adding a new dimension to the problem.

Driver's License Identity Theft

Our driver's license is the standard and most often used form of identification in United States. ID thieves are professionals at creating fake driver's licenses that are virtually impossible to detect. Having this form of picture ID opens the door to numerous other types of ID theft.

On October 28, 2006 in California, a worker at the Santa Ana DMV was arrested for her alleged role in an ID theft scheme that used applicant information to create fraudulent licenses. The indictment alleged that she used her position to sell fraudulent drivers licenses to co-schemers who paid between $1,500 to $5,000 for each fraudulent license. She allegedly obtained the identifications of victims from the DMV database and changed their address and identifiers to match the fraudulent purchaser who then had a new DMV photo taken.

What can You do to Protect Yourself?

The good news is there are many things you can do to protect yourself, but you must be proactive. This is a crime you cannot afford to wait to become of a victim of.

1. Order the Federal Trade Commission's free report on identity theft by visiting www.consumer.gov/idtheft or calling 877 382-4357

2. Get a copy of your own credit report and review it carefully for accuracy. Because of the new Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) you can get a free copy once a year at www.annualcreditreport.com

3. Be careful with your mail. Don't use an unsecured mailbox when mailing anything containing financial information. Drop off at the post office or in a post office collection box.

4. Guard your trash. Identity thieves will look for credit card receipts and applications, insurance forms, bank statements etc. Buy a shredder and use it regularly.

5. Use your Social Security Number only when absolutely necessary. Before you give your SS# to anyone, ask why it is needed and how it will be used, or shared with others and how the company protects your personal information.

6. Pay attention to billing cycles. If your bills don't arrive on time, follow up with your creditors. A missing statement can mean an ID thief has taken over your account and changed your billing address.

7. Be cautious with online purchases. Before purchasing anything on the internet, look for the icon of a lock in the lower right-hand corner of your browser windows. If it's there, you're dealing with a secure site. It not, you'll be safer finding another merchant.

8. Remove personal information from old computers. Files you think you have deleted from your computer may remain on your hard drive where hackers can easily access them. Use a wipe utility program to delete files with sensitive data.

9. Opt-out of receiving pre-approved credit cards offers in the mail by calling 888 5-OPT-OUT or going to www.optoutprescreen.com

10. Immediately sign up for an ID Theft Shield program which can not only monitor your credit and let you know when anything changes, but can also provide restoration after the fact. Don't wait on this one - Click here now for more information

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