We’re all users of the Internet. We pay bills online. We have our identity out there online. We also have credit cards - usually several of them. All of this adds up into one thing…

Your identity is digital. It is portable. And it is in other people’s hands.

And this means it is a matter of a few keystrokes to steal your identity. What if somebody got ahold of your social security number? Perhaps a site you work with somehow leaked it - even by accident. Perhaps somebody sifted through your trash and got it. Perhaps somebody just saw the number on somebody’s computer terminal in the company headquarters of your bank. What could they do with it?

A lot. And you’re basically depending on the honesty of the folks you work with to not abuse your information. There is one solution I want to tell you about, but first let me tell you a little more about the problem.

How ID Theft Works

The problem begins when somebody, somehow, gets ahold of your personally identifying information (name, social security, credit card number, etc) without your permission. This person then decides they want to try to USE your information to commit fraud. Perhaps they apply for more credit cards using your name and social security number, for instance.

The FTC estimates that as many as 9 million Americans annually have their identities stolen in this fashion.

Sometimes you will not know if somebody is out there using your information. In really bad cases, it can lead to lost job opportunities, lowered credit record, being denied a loan. This is serious stuff. In other cases, you might not know it is happening unless you routinely check your credit history and look for anything you don’t recognize.

How Do They Get Your Information?

There are multiple ways to get your information. I mean, just look for a second at all of the bills, credit card invitations, websites that you deal with. It adds up to the following, fairly trivial ways that somebody could steal your information:

• Dumpster Diving. Yep, all somebody has to do is dig through your trash or even the dumpster at the office or at your apartment complex.
• Phishing. They can pretend to be a legitimate company and, in reality, be somebody only looking to get your private information. It happens all the time online.
• Change of Address. Yes, how easy would it be to simply intercept one of your bills, fill out a change-of-address form, send it in and thereafter get all the bills sent somewhere else. That’s right. VERY easy.
• Stealing. Got your wallet or purse stolen? They now have EVERYTHING. Case closed.
• Social Engineering. They can call into companies and obtain your private information by convincing them they are you. Most companies employ some way to fight this, but it is not fool proof.

What Can Happen To You?

There are TONS of creative things a dishonest person could do with your identity, including but not limited to:

• Open credit cards in your name, charge them up, not pay the bill and it then goes on YOUR credit record.
• Create and use counterfeit checks using your information. I used to work in retail…this is REAL.
• Clone your debit card and make purchases, thereby draining your checking account. All you know is you see purchases you didn’t make.
• As mentioned above, they might change the billing address on your credit cards or bills. And, if you’re like me, you use your bills as reminder to pay. If you weren’t getting statements, you might not notice and, all of a sudden, your credit is affected by late payments.

I used to sell a piece of software online and I regularly got people repeatedly trying different credit card numbers. Often times these attempts were made by computers in countries like Malaysia, Pakistan, and China. Each one of these credit card numbers was STOLEN. I had to battle this, on the merchant side, constantly. If one ever got through, I would have to refund it. Sometimes, I’d have somebody dispute the charge saying they never made the purchase. Duh! Its because somebody else made the purchase using YOUR credit card!

So, don’t be stupid. It is easier than ever to have your identity stolen these days. What can you do about it?

Invest In Identity Protection

PCMech.com is partnering with a company called LifeLock that offers first-class identity protection.

Now, I’ll be the first to tell you that some of what LifeLock does you can do on your own. For example, LifeLock will contact all credit bureaus and set up free fraud alerts on your accounts. You can do the same thing on your own. But, LifeLock goes a LOT further than this. Here’s what they’ll do:

• As said, they’ll activate fraud alerts on all credit bureaus.
• Every 90 days, they’ll recall all bureaus and re-activate fraud alerts (because sometimes it simply stops for no reason)
• They will get your mailing address OFF of all pre-approved credit card and junk mailing lists. That right there will reduce all kinds of annoyance. I get multiple credit card offers DAILY!
• LifeLock will, yearly, request your credit report from all credit bureaus and have them sent directly to you. No need to remember to do it.
• If your wallet or purse ever gets stolen, LifeLock will assist in contacting all banks and document issuing companies to arrange cancellation and replacement. And, because it is LifeLock, they have the connections to ensure it is done quickly.
• This one is my favorite…they will insure your identity up to $1 million! If, at any time, somebody manages to get past LifeLock and steal your identity while active with LifeLock, they will go after the thief with a vengeance, unleashing lawyers, accountants, whatever. They will spend up to $1 million to recover your good name.

So, basically, they got your back! This company is owned by that guy who does the commercials where he drives around town in a truck with his social security number on a huge sign. Gotta love that.

So, here’s the deal. If you sign up for LifeLock through PCMech and use the promo code “mph10″, you will get an additional $10 off a yearly plan. The normal yearly plan will run you $120/year. They are already running a $10/off special. Using this special promotional code from PCMech, you can save an additional $10, making your yearly plan only $99. If you choose to go monthly instead, it will run you $9/month.

So, right now, through PCMech, you can save $21 on a yearly LifeLock plan.

I have seen identity theft at work. I have had to help people who had purchases made with my company using their credit card and it wasn’t them. It happens! So, don’t be stupid and act like it won’t happen you. It may never happen, but again, if 9 million Americans fall victim to identity theft per year, that isn’t good odds, my friend.