As Part of the Lionheart Assurance Scam Prevention Toolkit™
During an identity theft seminar, a Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist with Lionheart Assurance Solutions, LP will ask participants “Are you carrying your original Social Security Card in your wallet?” Inevitably hands will always rise. These experts who are assisting employees, customers and vendors will then communicate caution regarding carrying this form of identification in your wallet or purse on a regular basis. Original social security cards should be secured in a safe place at home or office, or possibly in a safe deposit box at your local bank branch. The card should only be carried if you know verification is required in connection with some type of transaction, but should then be returned immediately to its safe location.
Due to the downturn in the economy, thieves are now using employment scams to gain social security numbers over the internet and phone, taking advantage of people desperate to gain employment. We all need to work to make sure we become more identity savvy. When anyone asks for your social security number, learn to respond with, “Why do you need it? How are you going to secure it?” and “How are you going to dispose of it?” Reputable companies will understand their responsibility to complete all three.
It is estimated that 10 million social security numbers are bought and sold every 6 weeks in the identity theft crime world. If your social security number is ever used for employment by another person and is sold into a crime ring, it will be sold an average of 8 times. This means that your social security number will then be involved in at least 8 different fraudulent transactions, multiplying your problems many times over. Every holder of a social security card number, which we usually get before we leave the hospital as a new born, is vulnerable to theft, loss and scams. Just because a person is too young to work, or too old for that matter, doesn’t mean that their information cannot be stolen and used for fraudulent purposes.
Lionheart Assurance Solutions, LP recommends that each person make a photocopy of everything in their wallet and place that copy in a secure location. Should you lose your wallet or have it stolen, you will immediately have a record of all your belongings and a record of all your details regarding the loss to give to law enforcement officials, financial institutions, credit card entities, as well as federal and state identification issuing organizations. For more information, visit www.LionheartAssuranceSolutions.com today.
Does Lionheart Assurance Solutions, LP have speakers available in the Boston area? We have an upcoming event planned for our church group, and I’d like to have someone from Lionheart Assurance Solutions come and speak on identity theft. Not only do we have business owners in our congregation that could benefit, but I think everyone should understand this topic better.
Hi Barb…
Give the national Lionheart Assurance Solutions office a call at 469-522-3007. A Lionheart Assurance representative should be able to help you in arranging an event in the Boston area. Lionheart Assurance Solutions have agents nationwide who are able to shed light on identity theft issues. Thanks for reading the blog…
Thanks for your help! I think this is going to work out very well for our church. As it turns out, not only will our congregation be able to benefit from the educational material about identity theft, but the church will also benefit from those who sign up for the service. This was a bonus we didn’t expect, and the Lionheart Assurance Solutions Agent did a great job of listening and putting together a program that will work well for us. Thanks again!
People have become so accustomed to giving out their Social Security number in recent years that made identity theft that much easier for thieves. The thing that upsets me is when businesses ask for my social security number, simply because they’re either too lazy or not creative enough to come up with their own customer numbering system. I’m sure that’s one of the things Lionheart Assurance Solutions looks for in helping their business clients. Hopefully more people will just walk away from those types of businesses, because there’s really no reason they couldn’t use some other method to identify customers. Maybe this would be another idea for a Lionheart Assurance Scam Prevention article?
Wow – I had no idea criminals were buying and selling so many social security numbers! This is great information, Lionheart Assurance Solutions, and certainly something that needs to be a part of your Lionheart Assurance Scam Prevention series!
I think Floyd is right. Too many business DO ask for social security numbers for no good reason, and WE as their customers need to let them know we’re not going to give them to them anymore. Lionheart Assurance Solutions, LP – I agree that this topic would make an excellent Lionheart Assurance Scam Prevention article!
I would be interested in having Lionheart Assurance Solutions, LP come in to address our local Rotary Club and put on an identity theft seminar. I will be following up with the corporate offices next week, but in the mean time I’d like to print out some of the articles from the Lionheart Assurance Scam Prevention Toolkit to share with some of our local business owners. I hope that’s okay?
Excellent pointers, Lionheart Assurance Solutions, LP. I’ve been keeping copies of all the important stuff in my wallet for years, and I’m glad I made that decision! I recently had my wallet stolen, and it made it much easier to track everything down quickly to prevent a potential ID theft incident. I’ve enjoyed the other blogs you’ve posted in the Lionheart Assurance Scam Prevention series as well.