Articles Posted in Identity Theft

by

Children’s clothing, hair salons, expensive leather high heels, and other women’s clothing. For Collin Jeffries, the aforementioned all showed up on his credit card statement like normal purchases. The only problem? He is a 24 year old man from Philadelphia, who sports a shaved head and has no children. Jeffries was one of the over 70 million Sony consumers who had their personal information revealed via internet hacking criminals looking to steal identities.

In the previous part of this two part blog post, we detailed a story that has been plastered across news outlets over the last few months -Sony’s PlayStation Network and PlayStation Store’s lack of property online security. This failure to keep up with ever-savvy internet hackers on Sony’s behalf has wrecked havoc on the company and their customers. Customers, who were using the above mentioned Sony products in order to stream media online, paid for it by entering personal information like credit card numbers and addresses.

Continue reading

by

Last week, we detailed the ways in which identity theft can strike anyone. As the blog described, living in a lesser known location like Allentown, PA does not mean one is any less susceptible to the crime than a person living in a very urban area like Philadelphia.

Identity theft is awful not just because it is a crime, but because it is a crime that so often takes place right in your own home! Often, we hear tales of one having an identity theft crime committed against themselves involving faulty internet security, or even when a criminal preys upon mail that was not thrown away properly. Unfortunately, the criminals who commit identity theft have found new ways to target and attack their victims -one way, as a security break with a major electronics company has shown us, is through video gaming capabilities.

Video games are not just fun for children anymore. Many adults use gaming consoles to unwind and to stream the internet to download and enjoy not just games, but music, television shows, movies, and more, right on their televisions. Of course, such a luxury comes at a cost, which often involves the electronic transferring of credit card and other banking information. One would think that because video game consoles turned online media centers have become so popular amongst the public and major retailers, the connection when paying for the service would be secure -unfortunately, as a recent Sony case shows us, one is always vulnerable.

Continue reading

by

Identity theft is a serious crime and one that is growing each day, but there is a way prepaid legal services can help you. What many people do not realize about this crime is the fact that it doesn’t have to involve anyone in your state. So someone who lives in Atlantic City, New Jersey can actually have their identity stolen by someone who lives across the country. There are dozens of ways it can happen but people do not understand recovering from it is harder than it appears. Let’s say hypothetically you apply for a loan for a new car and it turns out your credit score is terrible and the reason is because someone on the other side of the country has taken out multiple credit cards in your name and charged away. You would probably notify the bank and the authorities so the cards are canceled immediately and your name is absolved of any debt. To most people the matter would be taken care of but legally there are still issues to deal with in order to get approved for that loan. Issues you would need the help of an attorney to take care of and that is where Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services can really help.

The advantage of pre-paid legal services to the employer is the fact that these benefits can save an employee a lot of time, time they would have to spend missing work, and a lot of money, but the legal service plans do not cost the company anything. The bill is taken care of by small payroll deductions so the cost of the attorneys is not an issue. The additional advantage to the employee is they can tap into a network of qualified attorneys who know exactly how to handle recovering from identity theft and can get the matter resolved quickly. Because this is a matter handled by an employee benefit, the employee does not have to run out and search everywhere for an affordable but qualified attorney. They have a network available to them at all times with unlimited consultations and face to face meetings. This network of attorneys can handle all types of legal issues, not just identity theft, and they provide a great service to your employees and your company. This is how prepaid legal services can help with the problems created from a crime like identity theft. People do not always understand the true problems this crime can create for them even after the culprit is stopped. For that they need an attorney to assist them in getting their credit score repaired.

by

The thought of prepaid legal services may seem like a dream to some companies because of where they live. However, that is not the case and this service is available to any company located in any city in the United States, including Trenton, New Jersey. The advantages to having pre-paid legal services for your company are vast. Before you learn about the multiple advantages, you need to first learn about the service. Legal service plans are similar to other employee benefits like health care, dental care, financial planning, and others. They are available to the employees who wish to have it and provide a great service. However, where this service is different from other benefits is the fact that it is of little to no cost to the company itself. The benefit is paid by small payroll deductions and not a financial burden on the company in any way. Many companies can prosper from offering this benefit to their employees because it gives their employees the opportunity to find quality legal assistance immediately without having to worry about cost or time missed from work.

The main advantage prepaid legal services has for the employees has to do with the fact that most employees will need legal assistance at one point or another. This can cover anything from identity theft, preparing legal documents, divorce, buying a home, and much more. Rather than having to waste their time and money looking for a lawyer through the phone book, all they have to do is check in with the service provided by Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services and they will get first rate legal assistance immediately at a low price. A Human Resources professional who has experienced an employee deal with legal issues knows how time consuming and expensive it can be. As a company, you need that employee at work, every day and focused on their job. They cannot do so if they are meeting with dozens of attorneys trying to see which one is best equipped to handle their problems. That is time consuming and it will take away from their work, something any company would like to avoid if possible. Being able to offer immediate legal assistance to your employee will help them to get back to work faster. As an added bonus to the employee, because the benefit is paid with affordable payroll deductions, they do not have to worry about the cost of the legal help and they can just focus on getting the issue resolved as well as their job.

by

Years ago the fear of identity theft was nonexistent. In fact, you never really knew anyone who had suffered from identity theft and needed pre-paid legal services to help them get through it. Unfortunately everyone now knows someone who has suffered from this crime and you may have been a victim yourself. Identity theft is no laughing matter and even though it is usually a non-violent crime, it can leave you feeling unsafe. No one points a gun at you when they steal your identity but the thought of having someone out there with your personal information is a bit startling. It doesn’t matter where you live, an administrative assistant in Allentown could fall victim to this crime as well as someone who lives in Washington. This is a serious crime and it can have devastating effects on your financial life.

There is more to this crime than someone taking money out of your bank account, in fact that rarely happens. The usual crime is someone opening up a credit card account in your name and using it as they please. Normally, you do not find out about this until you have your credit score checked and by then the damage is done. Even though you are a victim, you need to take certain legal actions to make sure you fully recover from this and you probably will have some questions about what to do. From an employer or human resources department standpoint, this sort of thing can really cause problems for a worker and there really is little you can do to help. One thing you can do is make sure that your employees have access to attorneys who can help with these types of matters immediately. Prepaid legal services will assist any employee with their legal issues including identity theft. The employee will save time looking for an attorney and they will save money because the cost is covered by a small and simple payroll deduction much like other voluntary benefits.

The advantages of having prepaid legal services at your disposal are vast, especially for anyone who has a heavy work load. There’s no such thing as a fast food attorney, you have to look for one, and then consult with them and that takes time, not to mention money. However, with Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services there would be no concern over cost or time wasted trying to find the right attorney. With these legal service plans you are tapped into a network of qualified attorneys who cover every legal field imaginable, including identity theft.