Imagine if each person had a color-coded system for the threat of identity theft like the country uses for terrorism. It would work like this.

You read an ominous story full of statistics on identity theft? Yawn. Green.

You read that the state’s printer stuck Social Security numbers on a bunch of Wisconsin tax forms? Hmmm, that was dumb. Nudge it up to Blue.

You open a letter that states you’re on the list of compromised numbers? Dang. Raise it to Yellow.

Thanks to that form letter, that’s the level where my wife and I stand: no longer pacified, but not yet panicked. We’ll trust the numbers that show identity theft is much rarer than most crimes, including theft of physical stuff like stereos, tools and cash. Trust, that is, without forgetting somebody will get bumped into Orange or Red.

It becomes less rare every year. It happened to Marv Campbell. He recently found out somebody had used his information to set up a cell phone account in his old California hometown. Some homecoming present after a 1 1/2-year tour doing security with the National Guard in Kuwait. The person charged about $2,000 several years ago, but Campbell didn’t find out about it until recently when he applied for a loan and a strange entry showed up on his credit report. He’s in the process of getting it cleaned up.

OSA Editorial Comments:

What a great article, I love the idea of having colors as a way to help us to protect our ID. If we are aware of our surroundings we can invision those colors in our minds and when we see a red flag, stop and run the other way:)

Start here to learn more about how to protect you ID. Please make sure you are using the most up to date online security for your internet connection including your Viruses and Malware, find out how your PC safe.

Your Online Security Authority
Bill Wardell

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